The might of Valyria returns
by TheBoredMan
Summary: The Targaryen family was a very mediocre family in the Valyrian freehold. Yet still, they managed to conquer an entire continent. What would happen if someone at the peak of Valyrian power were to suddenly appear? How would a great Valyrian mage shape the world around him? Slightly AU in regards to Valryian history. A very OP character.
1. Chapter 1 - Awakening

**Hello. This is my first fanfiction. Ever since i started reading A song of Ice and Fire i was captivated by the Valyrian society. I undestand why it isn't a very large part of the main story, but i still think it is a shame. Whatever. Here is my attempt at a fanfiction. If it is a steaming pile of garbage i apologize for wasting your time. It is worth mentioning that the opening of this is based on som other fanfic i read long ago, can't remember who though. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, sadly. **

Chapter 1 - Awakening

Darkness. When I woke, everything around me was pure darkness. It felt as though I had been swallowed by a looming presence. I was disoriented, drained and confused. It took me a few minutes before I came to my senses. I tested my own state of mind. My name is Aerios Batorion, I am 21 years old, I am son of Akorios and Rhyania Batorion. Good, I seemed to be able to think clearly.

Where was I though? Fumbling around in the dark my hand touched something cold and metal. I sighed with relief as I immediately identified it as my vectium. I mumbled a simple spell under my breath_,_ and out came an orb of white light. It illuminated my surrounding and I identified where I was. This is... the family vault? What the hell am I doing in here?

In the corner, a small mountain of gold coins were laying in a pile, stretching up the wall. Next to that, a large display case of jewelry and precious stones could be seen. This was the entirety of the Batorian family's liquid wealth, tens of millions in gold. In the other end of the room however, lay the true wealth of the family. Strange artifacts where meticulously placed on pillows of red and golden silk, expressing their value. There were rings, necklaces, beautifully ornamented horns, two vectiums and even a strange looking crown was there. A tingle rose up my spine just standing near these artifacts, as I could feel the tendrils of magical power crawling up my spine.

Even I didn't know just how many hundreds of millions of gold that have been spend through the ages to create these, not to mention the millions of lives, sacrificed to make them. Next to the artifacts though, was something of even greater value.

Eggs. Breathtakingly beautiful dragon eggs where displayed. Each with vibrant and extravagant colours of various kinds, depending on the egg, and each with a mesmerizing design marking it. One was combination of a glowing golden colour and an orange colour, beautifully woven together. Men could look at it for hours, without realizing the passage of time. Another was a dark blue obsidian colour mixed with pure blackness. Looking at it gave one a feeling of being swallowed by darkness. I tore my eyes from the eggs, as my mind suddenly came to think about my own dragon!

I reached out with my mind for it, and I felt its presence not far from here. I visibly shook, as I almost lost my footing due to my overwhelming worry and subsequent relief. However, as I called out to him, no response came. Even if he was asleep some kind of response would always come, so he must be dormant in some way, but at least he was alive!

My dragon was named Ragnirion, I called him Ragni though, and he was a dragon of the highest bloodline. Dragons of higher bloodlines where different from the mundane dragons the many lower dragonlords rode. Typically, a dragonlord family would have around 3 - 5 dragons of the same bloodline.

Their magic and the dragons' quality don't allow them to directly control them and form a mental bond, so they merely bind them to their bloodline. This creates a problem though, as the bloodline cannot change too much, otherwise the binding spell will lose its effect. That would require a new one, which is magic only great mages can accomplish, and that is very expensive. Therefore, the practice of incest became commonplace.

My dragon and I however, was not bound by some flimsy blood spell. My mother and uncle were archmages, and I myself am a greatmage. There can only be 14 archmages in Valyria at one time, each having been given control over one of the 14 flames. My mother and my uncle were both one of such archmages. In total 5 of the flames where in our families control, as they had been for 600 years. We held such a power, for we were the one of the triarchs of Valyria, the triarch family of magic.

An extremely strong connection was established between myself and Ragni. This created a powerful mental link, and a symbiosis of magical energy, lifespan and to some extent even senses. This connection however, has drawbacks. Should one of us fall, the other would suffer a mental breakdown, and either lose himself to madness or become an idiot. I returned my focus to my situation.

I looked down at myself and it seems I was wearing my night clothes. Instinctively, I reached for my bag of holding and found it was indeed there, strapped to my side.

A bag of holding was a small bag, which as its name suggested, was far bigger on the inside. It was made from dragon leather enchanted with spacial and sealing magic, which would allow it to hold much large objects than its own size. The ones of higher quality can have a temporal enchantment too, making it so that time within it is in a stasis, which of course mine had. In fact, I had made it myself, one of my more successful creations.

I reached out and put on a practical set of clothes and my armor. With my sword strapped to my side, I started walking towards where I could feel Ragni was located.

I found him shortly after in the main hall of the vault, the armory. Hundreds of spell forged weapons and various armors lined the walls. However, my gazed was captivated by what was laying in the center of the hall. A giant mountain of flesh and scales. A mixture of darkness and red patterns could be seen on the giant beast's side and wings. The rest of the body and tail was pitch black.

In the average dragonlord family, the head of the family would usually ride a dragon between 150-200 feet long. It would weigh maybe 30-40 tons. Ragni on the other hand, was sporting 400 feet, and a weight of almost 120 tons. He looked both beautiful and terrifying, though to me, it looked like comfort and home. He and I had been together all my life. I had slept with his egg in the crib, I had grown up with him as my best friend, brother and protector.

Feelings of happiness was pushed aside though, as I noticed the spell, surrounding him. It was a time stasis and a powerful one at that. I recognized the handiwork of my mother, instantly. With my affinity I could never hope to create one this powerful, but undoing the spell was simplicity itself for a great mage.

Slowly the monster started coming to life, unfolding its wings the best it could and lifting its head up. Two glowing orange eyes appeared in its pitch black head. It yawned and suddenly shook with panic as it looked around frantically until it spotted me. It made a pleading sound as it lowered its head to let me touch it.

**Relief. Happy.**

Were the emotions he conveyed. I asked him why we were in here, and he shook his head slightly and looked down. He then projected his last memory to me. I saw myself lying in my bed in my own room, Ragni looking at me from above.

The door suddenly swung open, and my mother rushed in, panic wild in her eyes. Ragni was about to wake me, but my mother signaled for him not to. Confused Ragni obeyed, as it knew her very well.

He was absolutely loyal to me and always had my own best interest in mind, but that didn't mean I would have my own best interest in mind too. Dragons matured much faster than children, so as I was young, he would be the responsible one, and that meant sometimes going against my will, if only indirectly, for should I give him a direct order, he cannot disobey.

He knew my mother well, so he accepted, that what was about to happen, was in my best interest, even if it might go against my will. She muttered a spell, and with a slight surge of power, from her bag of holding flowed a stream of liquid silver. She directed it so slowly lift me up and then signaled Ragni to follow, as she went toward the vault.

First she placed me in the innermost room, and sealed me in time stasis and then started sealing Ragni, as the memory ended. He looked at me pleadingly.

**Shame. Forgiveness. **

"It's alright buddy" I said, speaking for the first time, my throat like sandpaper. "Let's get out of here". The vault door was enormous, luckily, or Ragni would have never been able to fit. I carved the code word of the vault into the rune plate, and the door activated.

As it opened, a heavy mist rushed in. Likewise, a foreign consciousness reached out, instantly trying to penetrate my mind. I frowned and repelled it easily. Ragni didn't even detect it, as his natural resistance to malicious magic was far too great.

As the door opened, a frightening sight greeted me. Ragni instinctively growled as he placed himself so I stood between his too forelegs. What was once the greatest city in the history of the world, was now nothing but a large ruin. Broken, half melted towers and structures decorated the overgrown and neglected land.

I looked towards where the 7'th flame should have been. My mother's flame, but it was gone. The whole volcano was simply not there, it had been replaced with an enormous lake. Extreme emotions assaulted me as I froze in place, but I quickly manage to calm down. A mages greatest talent was a calm and logical mind in the face of disaster.

I went back into the vault. My bag of holding was about 30 X 30 feet in size, so there was plenty of space. I filled my bag of holding with gold, jewels and a few useful defensive artifacts, as well as 3 medium quality dragon eggs and one top quality egg. I firmly sealed the vault door again, and put my saddle on Ragni.

The ground shook and mist was blasted to the sides as Ragni took flight. Quickly he gained altitude, and the true state of the city revealed itself to me. The land had shattered completely, and now it seemed all that was left was a collection of ruins and a bunch of islands.

I instructed Rangi to fly in a circle as I pondered on what to do next. I considered going to one of the Valyrian vassal states for more information, but then I thought better of it. Although I couldn't tell exactly how much, a substantial amount of time had passed. This meant even the daughters of Valyria might not welcome one of their former masters, for they would surely have rebelled against whatever remained of Valyrian rule. There were no dragons left to keep the order.

I knew the laws of the draconic, which stated that if one held the position of dragonlord in Valyria, to prevent the spread of dragons to other nations and thereby relinquishing the Valyrian monopoly on our greatest military strength, all dragons and eggs must be kept within the confines of the Valyrian peninsula only to leave on a temporary basis. This meant all our power was concentrated to one place which now turned out to be the doom of our great empire.

Well, there was that one exception when a crazy dragonlord was granted the right to leave, only as long as he stayed within the confines of a small barren island outpost. With a shock the thought hit me "Then there must have been survivors!" I blurted out. Even if only initially. But had they endured the time since however long ago Valyria fell? "Haha to think we called them fools. What a joke we... were". I sighed. "I just don't have enough information" I said and I knew where to go.

I turned Ragni towards where the citadel was located. I knew the common tongue of Westeros, though at the time I was learning it, I thought it was a waste of my efforts. Why should I learn the language of barbarians? Thank the gods, father insisted. If the history of the world was recorded anywhere, the citadel would be the place.

I have always frowned upon it. The teachings they learned were inferior even the most simple of Valyrian lessons. And their knowledge of magic was non-existent... thanks to us monopolizing it. I found myself suddenly very happy that such places existed.

I flew Ragni above the clouds but as we came upon open water, the sky cleared. Not wanting to draw attention I cast a spell of refraction on him, making it so that anyone beneath would only see a blurred imitation of the light around us. The trip would take almost a whole day. Ragni could fly several weeks non-stop and I could easily sleep in the saddle, so it wasn't a problem. Though after about 10 hours in, I received a statement.

**Hungry. Prey. Below. **

The time stasis is a miracle like spell, but it does not freeze time completely, merely slows it to an almost stop. The more energy that is sealed, the less effective the spell is. Ragni had grown famished in his magically induced sleep.

"One moment" I said as I took out a pair of goggle from my bag. It was meant for exactly situations like this, where the journey was long and over water. I put on the googles and strapped myself completely to the saddle. I told him: "Alright, I am ready". He replied instantly.

**Hunt.**

Immediately the enormous dragon folded its wings to its body and dove. He started accelerating to an insane speed as we plummeted towards the water. Ragni shielded me just as we hit the water but it still felt as if smashing into a cold wall.

After a few moments, we resurfaced and Ragni violently flapped his wings to escape the grip of the water. It seems the "prey" was a flock of dolphins as he had two in his mouth. Whilst we ascended again he effortlessly swallowed them and after he reached a certain high, he folded his wings and dove. 12 showers and 19 dolphins later, we were on our way again.

Soon we started seeing a coastline. After I while it grew dark and I was almost beginning to worry until I saw the Hightower in the distance. It was still here. I flew a good 10 miles inland before I landed Ragni in a meadow, a good distance from the main road.

As I got of him, I said: "This might take a day or two, so when you hunt, do it at night over the ocean, otherwise hide in the cloud cover. Do not draw any attention to yourself. For now, we must keep out of sight" He let out a loud series of unsatisfied grunts.

**Annoyed. Worried. Lonely. Sad. **

"I know buddy. It just a day or two, I don't want this anymore than you do" I tried consoling him, as I caressed his head. This, unfortunately, was also a byproduct of bond between us. Rarely were we ever more than a 100 feet apart, and if we were it was very brief.

The ground shook as Ragni took off, and I began walking towards the road. I started contemplating the problem of my appearance.

The normal Valyrian characteristics were sliver hair and purple eyes. This was a result of the magic in our blood, but my body was different. Our family simply had so much magic in our body, we had to modify ourselves to control it. This left us with an unusual golden hair colour and ever so slightly glowing light blue eyes. Should I walk into their city as I was, I would draw a lot of attention to myself.

I put away my armor and weapons and I drew out a cloak from my bag and put it on, then I cast a dimming spell on my eyes. They would still look unusual with their intense colour, but at least they would look human. I was satisfied with my appearance as I started walking towards the road. As I came upon the road, a caravan was occupying it.


	2. Chapter 2 - Discovery

Chapter 2 - Discovery

I thought I might join the caravan, and sneak into the city unnoticed, but as I walked out of the bushes and approached the many servants walking behind the carriage, a guard saw me and came running.

"Halt" he shouted with an authoritative tone. The people around me hardly reacted as they kept on walking. This must be a normal occurrence. He stopped when he right in front of me, his hand on his sword hilt. "Tell me who you are and your business here" He demanded.

Knowing my accent, I had to claim to be from Essos. I cleared my throat and tried to speak as clearly as possible. "My name is Nario, I am a visitor from Braavos, here to see the great Oldtown." I didn't know anything about the state of the world, but I hoped the runaway slave hold still existed. I picked a common name amongst the slaves.

The guard took a step back and narrowed his eyes, "aye, I can tell you ain't from round here, that's for sure. But if you a bravossi, why ain't you arriving by sea?"

I had seen a few small towns down the coast, so I responded: "Apparently, the captain of my ship was a wanted man in these part, something he neglected to share with me, when I paid him. He said he couldn't land around these parts but when I protested, he threw me overboard by a town not far from here"

He looked down at my pants, wet from Ragni hunting, and laughed: "I don't know if you a liar or a fool, but 'least you ain't armed. A mistake that could cost ya 'round these parts"

"They kept my things on the boat, but I hid few coins on me before they threw me over the side. I could give you one, if I might follow you for the rest of the way." I said, smiling to the guard.

The guard looked puzzled for a moment, then said: "How bout this. I know a place to eat when we get there. You give me a meal, we call it even" I smiled and said: "Thank you friend"

He replied: "Hehe, it's you who is paying, what you thanking me for, eh? Though let me give ya a piece a' advice for da future. Never admit you'd be carrying coin to a stranger, that be a good way to make it so you'd be waking up with a whole in da throat. Derek is the name by the way."

We talked for a while before we reached the town. It seemed they were transporting a noble from the Hightower family, which was a family even I knew about. Derek taught me a lot about what was apparently the new center of the world, Westeros. Who was the leading noble families, and who sat on the "iron throne" was a popular topic on the road. I didn't understand what "Iron Throne" meant and asking anyone would be very suspicious, but I assumed it meant the seat of the king. It seemed that in Valyria's absence, the continent had been united under one kingdom, though I would have to read more about it to understand.

When we reached the city, the people in the train audibly expressed their amazement at the structure that greeted them. I personally wondered how you could possibly be impressed by a tall chimney, though now a suppose, it must be one of the tallest structures there was. That is unless the westerosi have massively improved their structural building techniques.

The lady was deposited in some shabby looking estate in the city, as Derek showed me the "inn" we were staying at. I stopped myself from expressing any dissatisfaction but the quality of everything here was simply so much worse than I feared. I was famished from the long journey and dormant period so I needed food. Unfortunately, the bag of holding cannot store anything organic, though the magical nature of dragon eggs made them an exception.

I was given a weird looking pie and a wooden spoon. The taste was salty and almost rancidity but at least it was filling. Derek seemed to marvel at the meal, thanking me several times for paying. It was a coincidence that I happened to have copper and silver coins from Yunkai in my bag. They had been there for years, even before I went dormant, but now I had finally had a use for them. Two cups of ale were given to us, I merely gave mine to Derek, and asked for water, under the pretense that I didn't drink. As night came I said goodbye to Derek and walked up the stairs.

The room was even worse than the food. The bed was a stack of hay and some skins and it was even filled with lice. I cast a sterilization spell on the bed frame, before replacing it with my own sheets. Looking up at the uneven wooden ceiling, sighed to myself because I knew I would have to get used to this.

Morning came too soon, and I was still tired from the road. I reached out to Ragni confirming to him that I was alright, and went down to the common for breakfast. When I saw what was served, I merely asked the bartender to give a message to Derek of my departure, and I then went towards the citadel.

On the way there, I stopped at a tailor shop, and bought a pair of clothes, that made me look like I wasn't a rich man, but I wasn't a commoner either. Careful with exposing my hair, I went through the citadel gates.

A very annoyed looking man greeted me as I walked up to the reception desk.

Not taking his eyes of whatever he was reading he asked me: "Can I assist you with something?"

I answered him: "Yes, my name is Nario. I am a historian specializing in Valyrian history. I have come all the way from Braavos to study and compare my historical notes to yours. I had also hoped to further our own records on the history of Westeros"

A story I had come up with last night in my room. This piqued the funny looking mans interest and he looked up at me. He pondered for a moment before saying: "We were not aware of this. Do you have a letter of validation from one of your seniors? We know several from the library in Braavos, though no one specializing in Valyrian history as you say you do."

I answered. "I am afraid not. It is as you say, there I no one apart from myself specializing in this subject in Braavos. This is a personal journey I paid for myself to help further our library. "

He looked at me skeptically and answered: "Is that so... Then I am afraid that I cannot let you into the inner sanctum of the citadel before a form of identification is produced."

"Dammit." I thought to myself. But then the man said: "You are permitted to use the library in the meantime. I believe most of the information you seek are located here, in any case."

I walked through the doors and a great hall filled with rows upon rows of books greeted me: "The library is very large, even larger than my family library" It took me a while before I found what I was looking for. I was shocked to find that more than 400 years had passed since Valyria stood. As I suspected it was the 14 flames that erupted. There was different account of what happened but I personally believe it was a magical experiment that caused them to unleashed their energy.

Perhaps it was even my mother who was the cause, since she seemed to be the only one that managed to react to it. I don't know, but it matters little now. I then turned my attention to Westeros and started reading its history.

The Targaryen family did indeed survive, and even conquered the seven kingdoms of the continent. Balerion was the name of the dragon they used. I remember it, the day the family left the freehold. I was watching it from my tower, friends around me laughing at his stupidity, me laughing with them. I would punch myself in the face if I could go back to that moment.

Still. To think that inbred dragon could bring the world to heel, what couldn't Ragnirion do then. I cast my mind from the subject and focused on more reasoned history. The dragons grew smaller and smaller obviously, but I had not expected them to have disappeared completely. I am suddenly enormously relieved that my i had a collection of fertile eggs waiting in a vault, and 4 ready in the bag of holding.

An idea struck me then. This might be the greatest tragedy in the world and to me personally. Everyone I had ever known, ever, is dead. But it also meant that any and all power that might stand in my way, is inconsequential compared to the one I had flying above me.

In the history books it said that the key to the Valyrian power was dragons, and that is true. However, there was something just as important, that wasn't mentioned in the books I found.

Contract magic. The magic that was used to bind the dragon race to our will in the first place. It is something we have perfected over our long history, and without it we would have had massive internal wars many times. It surprised me, that nobody wondered how we managed to perfectly obey the laws we set for ourselves, why we were the only dragonlords in the world. And more importantly, how we managed to avoid any large scale violent conflicts in thousands of years of history, when it hardly took the Targaryen any time at all to kill their dragons through infighting.

Nobody wondered why Aenar Targaryen and his direct offspring never invaded Westeros or taught their magic to others. They were under contract, and thus were forced to obey, even after the doom, as it was called. Another thing was, magic seemed to have died out completely. It was no wonder of course, as the entirety of the magic outside of Valyria, was extremely limited, and lacked the foundational knowledge of magic principles and rules. It was all based of residual atmospheric magic, and without Valyria sending out magic like light from a beacon, their spells have nearly stopped working altogether.

They theorized that it was due to the fall of the dragons, which technically was the reason for their failures. Dragons are very powerful creatures and wherever they go, they radiate magic around them. The same could be said of the 14 flames, which was why Valyria was located and so concentrated around where they were, but now that was gone too.

If I was to launch a dynasty here, I would need to find and effective way of generating magic on a permanent basis. I sat pondering the outlines of possibilities before I was interrupted by a man clearing his throat loudly next to me. It was the man in the reception

He gazed at me with an almost contemptuous look and said: "I am afraid I must inform you, that you are no longer allowed on the premises."

I looked at him almost comically, no longer bothering with the respectful pretense, and asked why. He said through his teeth: " A scholar from Braavos have been entertained at the citadel for the past few days. I didn't wish to bother him, but as I met him in passing, I asked about you. He said he had never seen nor heard of you, and that there certainly was no historian specializing in Valyria in the library of Braavos."

I shrugged as I stood up and started walking towards the exit. He followed close behind, escorting me almost down to the streets. Before he closed the gate behind me I asked in passing "The books said nothing of the royalty of Valyria".

He answered with a sigh, probably wondering why he even bothered. "That is because there was no royalty in Valyria, that is why it is called the freehold".

"Yes, there was. A triarch of rulers, 3 families of royalty. One representing military, one representing wealth, one representing magic. In fact, all the records seem to mention are the families under the triarch of wealth, simply because they were the only ones, dealing with the outside world. There wasn't just 40 noble families, there was almost 100. If you bothered to count the large structures, even the ones standing today number much more than 40."

I could see surprise in his eyes, then disgust as he answered: "I don't know how you got your hands on Maester Wylmanns theory of Valyria, but I resent you for passing his theory on Valyria as your own, rejected or not"

"Who is Maester Wylmann?" I answered, to which he replied as he was closing the door behind him: "Someone who died 30 years ago".

I bought a leather bag and a variety of somewhat edible foods, and started walking out of the city. A lot was on my mind. I had learned more than just the history of old, I but also read copies of reports on the state of Westeros within the last few years. It seemed the king had recently died, and the iron throne, (I now understood that reference) was taken over by his son, King Joffery.

From what I could tell though, with the execution of Eddark Stark, and rebellion of the previous kings brothers, there was something wrong with his right to rule. Such information was unfortunately censored in the library and official history records. Even if he didn't have a real claim I doubt he would just abdicate the throne to me. What interested me more was the northern rebellion.

Although I had a very powerful dragon, I still needed an army to take control of anything I might conquer. Perhaps I could persuade them to help me take the throne, and as a repayment I could offer them revenge and some favoritism over the other kingdoms, like lower taxes, better trade deals etc. Even if Robb Stark proclaimed himself king in the north I doubt he would insist in the face of Ragnirion. Then there was the most interesting part I heard.

A Targaryen girl had survived the rebellion, and it amazingly had managed to hatch 3 dragon eggs. From my understanding those eggs were very old, meaning she would have to have a very potent magic in her blood. She had also just recently acquired an army of slave soldiers called unsullied. I would face a dilemma though both because she fully intended to sit on the throne herself, but also she despised slavery, where I had been a slaver since infancy. My family owned almost a million slaves back then, and I never minded it. To be perfectly honest, I was rather indifferent to the whole thing, slavery was just such an important institution in Valyria, that abolishing it was not possible.

The entire basis for the Triarch of wealth was based on mining through slavery. This country seemed to do fine without it though, so maybe they were not a necessity for greatness. I would have to decide how I wanted to rule. It seemed like any attempt to reinstate slavery here would result in a lot of resistance, so perhaps I would have to do without it.

The night came and before long I called Ragni down to a spot in the surrounding forest, where I felt I was confident he would not be seen. As he landed and I hugged his head, the constant nervousness I had felt these two days finally dissipated.

**Excited. Happy. **

Ragni almost couldn't stop himself from whimpering, but silently I managed to get onto his back, and with what sounded like a very abnormally powerful gust of winds, we were up in the night sky. I decided that regardless of the outcome, at least I would meet with this king in the north, and see how he would handle the prospect of losing his crown.

Although I loved flying, this journey meant almost two days in the saddle which was not a pleasant trip. At the very least it was over land, so it gave me a chance to see more of this foreign place. But then I had to find wherever they had camp. I sighed at the prospect, but still, I urged Ragni north.


	3. Chapter 3 - Meeting a king

Chapter 3 - Meeting a king

It's cold. That is the best way to describe the north. Initially I had flown much too far, before learning (by visiting various taverns), that King Stark was in a city called Riverrun. It was easy to find, I just had to follow the Redfork river until it split in two. I was there before two days had passed, and wondered how I might best contact this King in the north. It was still dark when I arrived, but thanks to my ability to look through Ragni's eyes, it might as well have been daylight.

This was the first castle I had ever seen. I read about them before of course, and frowned my nose and laughed at the concept at the time, but now seeing one, although it looked shabby, I couldn't help but acknowledge the pride and might it signified. It was useless against an airborn attack though, no wonder Aegon I had little trouble conquering this place. Still, against men on the ground it was pretty effective.

I had Ragni fly over the castle as quietly as possible, and right over one of the prominent roofs, I jumped of and cast a floating spell on myself. I slowly drifted down and landed outside what I presumed to be the kings room. Looking through the window I saw a young man, not much older than myself, brooding over a stack of papers by several candle lights.

From what I could gather, the war that had once been very successful for him, was turning rather sour. Marrying a commoner didn't go well for him. Though it is hard to judge, based on rumor alone. I watch for few minutes deciding what to do, before he suddenly stands up, blows out the candles, and walks to a bed in the room. A woman is sleeping in the bed, that would presumably be said wife of his.

A plan forms in my head, and I mumble a few magic words under my breath. I cast a spell at the window, turning the lock to fine dust, then I silence everything within feet of myself, and I draw the nearby darkness to me. Slowly I open the now "unlocked" window and step into the room, closing it behind me. I walk up to his desk slowly and take his quill and paper and write a note:

_Please do not see this as a threat, I assure you that I have no malicious intentions. I merely wish that we could have a meeting in private. Tomorrow evening at sunset I request you would take a walk in the forest to the north, whereas we might talk. I think I can assist your cause greatly, though I would advise you to keep this a secret for now._

Satisfied, I very gently suspended the note in the air a few inches above his head, and left the way I came in. Ragni landed in a meadow in the forest, as gently as possible but he still made a loud "thump". I set up a makeshift camp using stuff I had in my bag and Ragni's wing as a roof. Here we both slept for the night and most of the following day.

Since I would have to reveal my origin anyway, I might as well drop the disguise. I put on my finest spellforged armor, my beautifully ornamented, enchanted sword and my other various pretty magical artifacts. I had learned that our spellforged steel was referred to as Valyrian steel, however, I had not heard of anyone finding a true enchanted sword. I held my vectium in my right hand, and released the dimming spell on my eyes, finally I was ready to go.

I had not read anything about the existence of a vectium either. A vectium might be what myth refers to as a wizards staff. It is a tool that amplifies magical energy and transforms it into a frequency and type that suit the spell you are casting. An example would be if I should attempt to cast a simple illumination spell. I would need to convert the magic energy into a very low and stable frequency, while also changing it into the _lux _element. If it was a fireball I would want a very high and volatile frequency, while using the _igni _element. These however, where well-kept Valyrian secrets so it was no wonder, the world had no knowledge of it.

The exact meeting point would have to be up to my guest, I would follow him from the air until I saw a suitable stop in his path, then I would draw him in. I flew over the edge of the forest as it was about time, and as if on queue, young king Robb stood at the edge arguing with a red headed, slightly older woman… his mother? "I see" I said to myself, "it seems he didn't take my advice to remain discreet". After a while though he released himself from her, and started trotting into the forest.

It didn't take long for me to pick a spot. I landed Ragni and drew on the darkness around to cover him. Now he looked like an enormous smudge of shadows behind me. You could see that there was something but definitely not what it was. I marveled at how useful journeyman magic was. These small tricks I once thought beneath me, proved remarkably helpful. As I figured he was drawing closer, I started sending out small flashes of light. Not overly bright, but sharp enough to be seen. And not long after, a figure stepped through the bushes.

He didn't seem startled when he approached, but he did look rather unnerved by the object in my hand and my general attire.

In an annoyed tone and northern accent, he started the conversation: "So, I got your message. Who are you, and what do you want?"

I tilted my head slightly, as I answered: "My name is Aerios Batorian, and I want to help you."

The king clicked his tongue: "In the north, we call words like that horseshit. If you can help me tell me how, and what you want in return, but first I want to know who you are!"

It seemed the young king didn't mince his words. Good.

"I doubt I could convince you to believe me, even should I tell the truth, so for simplicities sake, let us say this. I am a man like Aegon Targaryan. I want to rule this continent and everyone in it. I think you can help with that."

Anger burning in his voice the king replied. "You are crazy. I don't know how you got into the castle, and did those things in my chamber, but I am tired and have wasted enough time. Say what you have to say sorcerer, and be on your way"

I changed the tone of my voice to a more neutral version an asked:

"Alright, let me ask you a few questions then. How come you are king in the north? Just because Joffery killed your father, doesn't make you king. What gave you that right to suddenly declare yourself a monarch?"

He answered with disdain at the accusation: "I am king because the south no longer has a say in what happens in the north. Why should we listen to what some boy born of incest tells us to do, when he has nothing to do with us down here. We bowed in the past only to the dragons and they are gone now. I am king, because I am already at war with those that say I am not."

I gave him an amused look, "I agree, so why can't I be king. I think I would be a better ruler than Joffery, and I think the crown would consider me an enemy no matter what I did. If you can be king can't I?"

He looked at me utterly irritated and as if he was wondering to himself why he bothered answering

"Because you don't have a claim and I do! Because you don't have an army and I do! You don't even have any land of your own, or I would know of you. Everything it takes to be a king, you have none of it. Did you think you could show up with your fancy clothes and your fancy tricks and the people would just make you a king! "

I answered with a neutral tone: "True, I do not have a claim, true, I do not have an army, but Aegon had no claim and hardly an army either. He was a foreigner like myself and he conquered seven kingdoms, so why can I-"

"BUT!" The young king interrupted me, raising his voice, "Aegon Targaryan had dragons! So unless you can make a dragon appear with one of your tricks, then this discussion has no purpose, now say something of use otherwise I will leave. Do not think because I was desperate enough to meet you, that I have any time to waste." Exasperated the king shook his head, as if having argued with a child.

A very uncomfortable silence descended into the clearing as I answered in a low tone "I am sorry, I cannot make a dragon with magic. But… " I said, stopping mid-sentence.

The shadows behind me slowly started lifting. The king slowly looked up, and found a massive black head, with two glowing orange eyes staring at him in the dark. A stare that could cause a weaker man to faint on the spot. Slowly the brave king in the north started trembling as he realized what was standing in front of him. A low but very deep growl could be heard from the beast, as he staggered backwards.

"I don't think I need to". I finished.

The proud young king from before was gone, left was a trembling young man in his stead.

"What do you want?" He asked, fear dripping from every word.

I tilted my head in puzzlement "I told you, I want to rule the seven kingdoms. I want to sit on the iron throne, as you call it".

He looked at me, hopelessness growing in his eyes.

"What does that have to do with us? I cannot give you the throne."

"It has everything to do with you."

I walked over and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I promise you, he will not do anything I do not command him to." I looked at my dragon and said firmly "Ragni, lay down".

The massive beast folded its wings and curled around itself.

"See? No need to worry. I am not your enemy. I merely have a proposition I think you might be interested in. "

Ragni laying down seemed to have visibly calmed him down, and he spoke:

"With that thing, I imagine the world is in your yours for the taking anyway, what do you need me for?"

"You are wrong. I am one man, even if a dragon lord, how am I supposed to conquer anything if I do now have men on the ground to help me? Even if a turned an opposing army to ash, what good would it do me if I didn't have troops to help me hold the land? That is why I need you Robb Stark. I want you to be that army. You said you bowed to the dragons before, could you not do it again?"

I waited for a while for the boy to answer. Obviously he was overwhelmed by what had happened, and I certainly did not blame him. After a long while, he cleared his throat and said:

"Might I ask you, when you say you want the iron throne, does that include all seven kingdoms?"

I narrowed my eyes and answered:

"If I said yes, would that pose a problem?"

He sighed and looked down on his feet.

"Aye, it would. Although I am king, it was my men that declared it so, not me. I doubt they will accept these news lightly. But I will do what I must to avoid facing destruction. I know I have asked you already, but could you tell me who you are… please".

"Alright", I answered lightly, smiling at the implication. "Do you know of a place called Valyria."

"I do."

"Good. Then do you know what happened there?"

"Aye, the doom of Valyria. But that was a long time ago"

"It seems so. Nothing survived the eruption of the 14 flames, but I managed to react before the doom took place and I was hidden away. Although more than 400 years have passed out here, I woke up no more than a week ago, finding myself in the ruins of what was once my home."

He looked at me with disbelief and muttered to himself "that makes no sense" not expecting me to hear it. I answered it though.

"What do you know, of what does and doesn't make sense? You have no clue as to the limitations of magic. I find it hard to understand, that you would believe a city the size of a country was destroyed by magic over night, but that I cannot have survived it with magic?"

He started as he straightened his back unknowingly "I apologize. Might I ask, what will you do next?"

"Tomorrow I would like you to arrange for a private meeting with you and all your lords. You will convince them to break camp and get the men ready. We will then march south with the entire army in one unit, to meet the Lannister army in the open. They seem to have a massive numerical advantage, so they will surely welcome the direct confrontation. You will have to be pervasive because, the existence of Ragnirion will remain a secret. Find a huge, open field for the battle. It doesn't matter if they have the advantage of the terrain, so long that they cannot easily retreat into a tree line. At the moment everyone is ready to charge, I will unleash the might of a true Valyrian dragon and crush them so soundly that any notion of resistance will disappear. I think by far, that would be the most effective method, don't you agree?"

The young king hesitated before answering me "Yes." Reluctance staining the word.

I gave him a well-practiced disapproving look; one I had given to my subordinates many times in the past.

"If this is not to your liking then simply say so and it will be as if I was never here. A pact like this has to be mutual and you seem very reluctant. If you say no then I shall simply visit the next candidate for my campaign, which would be the Tyrell family. I am sure they would be more than happy to give me the men. I understand your misgivings about this. Thousands will burn alive but this is war, boy. Men die. After I soften up the troops you will attack. This will end the war quickly and secure the grip of my rule long term. Now, do you accept the task before you?"

"As you wish… Your grace."


	4. Chapter 4 - Confusion and terror

**Hello again. I will try to keep updating the story on a regular basis, but right now i am studying for my final exams, so i cannot guarantee anything. I hope you enjoy the chapter. **

**Chapter 4 - Confusion and Terror **

**Third person Robb**

"That wasn't real." was the first clear thought in Robb's head while he was walking out of the forest. "This is insanity" he thought. "Just as I was losing the war, a man that could change everything appeared." It was ridiculous, insane, that this completely unknown stranger appeared out of nowhere, and lay claim the iron throne. Truly laughable, except this man wielded a being powerful enough to bring a continent to its knees.

Robb had never seen a dragon before but that beast seemed far greater than he ever imagined anything could be, even a dragon. He paused for a second to entertain another idea.

Maybe this was all a trick. Maybe the sorcerer had cast a spell on him, making him see things. Maybe there was no dragon. The dragon had appeared out of nowhere. Wait, that wasn't true. The weird shadow behind him had been there before he walked into the clearing. No. He could not take the risk of assuming it was fake, he would trust what he saw. He shuttered at the thought of the dragon releasing its might upon his people. "No matter what I do, I must prevent that at all cost. Even if I have to sacrifice everything else, I will not let it happen." Thoughts on what to do was racing in his mind, while he approached the edge of the forest.

As he cleared the trees, the sight of a redheaded figure greeted him, "I had forgotten about mother" he thought to himself. "Robb!" she exclaimed, with a worried expression on her face. She looked at him for moment in relief before regaining her composure and asking; "So, did you gain anything from this little adventure of yours?" she asked. Robb merely looked at her and nodded absentmindedly.

This upset the older woman, "Are you alright? Did something happen to you? What happened in there?" a barrage of questions assaulted him. Robb regained his senses before answering "I am fine. Nothing happened to me, but it seems everything we planned must change."

"Why? Did you meet the person who left the message?"

"Aye. I met him." Robb answered in a monotone voice as he started walking towards the castle.

"What did he say? Can he help us? Please Robb you have to stop and tell me!"

Robb stopped and looked back at her, "He can certainly help us. But I fear it will come at a price. It doesn't matter though. We have no choice."

"What do you mean? Is he forcing you to do this? And what price are we going to pay?" Answered his mother in a rather upset tone.

Robb sighed and said "He isn't forcing us to do anything, in fact, we should thank the gods. It is very lucky he came to us first. It doesn't matter anyway, we don't have a choice."

This only upset his mother more and she ran up and grabbed his arm, forcing him to finally look her in the eyes.

She had composed herself now because all the distress in her expression was replaced with seriousness.

"Robb! Why don't we have a choice?" She said each word slowly, whilst gripping his arm even further, locking his gaze with hers.

Robb looked dejected, but he answered: "Because. Even if we decline, he will surely just take this offer to the Tyrells, or the Lannister's or anyone else with an army. If my own eyes didn't deceive me, then we don't have to worry about the wars to come any longer. As for the price..." After a long pause the former king answered, "That would be my crown."

The rest of the night Robbs mother barraged him with question after question on what he happened and why he was no longer a king, but Robb remained steadfast. No matter what, he would not risk the wrath of the man in that forest. If he wanted his dragon to remain a secret, then Robb was going to make damn sure it would be so.

Just as he was preparing to finally join his wife in bed, a commotion sounded outside his door and several guards entered his room. "Your grace please come with us". Without bothering to question why, Robb followed.

They lead him into one of the larger rooms in the castle. At the center of the room, two boys were lain atop a leather skin. Dead. "The Lannister boys" realized Robb as he shifted his gaze in confusion to the guards.

One of them cleared his throat and spoke "Your grace. 15 minutes ago, a group of men lead by lord Karstark broke into the prison cells and killed the two Lannister prisoners. We have them detained outside."

Completely overwhelmed by all that had happened today, Robb sighed and spoke "Bring them ind".

Lord Karstark and 4 other men were hauled into the room. As Robb saw the men entering the room a feeling of disgust welled up inside him, "It took 5 of you to murder two unarmed boys?"

The proud Rickard Karstark straightened his back and answered, "Not murder, your grace. Justice."

Robb didn't answer. He just stared at Rickard for a while before answering dispirited. "Lord Karstark. Any other day, but today I would have executed you for murder. But not today." Robb shifted so that he was addressing the entire room.

"All of you. Make sure to get a message to the remaining northen lords. Tomorrow, we assemble at dawn for a war counsel. We are marching as soon as possible. Let lord Karstark go. I will pardon his crimes for today. As for the future. Well, I suspect that will depend on your performance in the war, but I make no guaranties."

With that, before any of the people in the room had a chance to express their shock, Robb grabbed Talisa and left out the door. As he was walking up the stairs to his room, he could hear hurried footsteps pursuing behind him. A shout sounded "Robb!". He didn't turn as he answered "Mother."

"What is wrong with you Robb? What is happening? Please tell me, I beg of you!" You could see panic in lady Starks eyes as she was addressing her son. He didn't blame her. Yesterday he would have never shown a weak resolve like that, he would have never just pardoned a murder. No matter who was victim, no matter who was the murderer.

As she opened her mouth to speak again, Robb interrupted with the resolve of his usual self, "Mother. I am doing what is right." and then he kept walking. His mother stood behind, worry marring her worn but still beautiful features. But Robb didn't see. He didn't even look back once, for his head was muddled with concern for the meeting tomorrow.

To move an army was easier said than done. It was a huge task to break camp and for twenty thousand men to get in line and start marching on. It took almost two days before the whole army was ready, and the fact that the soldiers were terrified of what was to come, didn't help much either. Every single one of his 20.000 men knew that they were walking up the king's road, which meant they were walking towards a better equipped and several times larger army.

Robb could almost smile at the thought of how confused Tywin Lannister must be. Soon he would learn of the troop movements and wonder what was really going on, for a capable commander such as Robb, would surely never make such a suicidal move.

"He must have been expecting us to make use of the twins again" Robb thought, and they would have, had everything not changed. But in the end Robb knew that Tywin really didn't have a choice in the matter. Unless he wanted him to walk straight into kings landing then he would have to block him, though that should prove rather easy considering the difference in military strength.

Days passed as they marched. Every day the lords would come and express their concerns for his course of action, and everyday Robb would dismiss them. He had not heard from the sorcerer since that night in the village. He was even considering the possibility that he was a conjurer hired by Tywin to cost him the war. But he had decided to trust himself and trust his senses.

After another 3 days of marching the scouts finally came back with a report on the Lannister army. It seemed to be in full force and was marching straight towards them. Robb immediately assembled the other lords for an emergency counsel.

It took quite a bit of convincing and quite a bit of reminding everyone who was king, but Robb succeeded. It didn't help either, that Robb insisted on having the lords tell their men, that no matter what happened, unless a retreat was sounded, they were not to move from their position. They had chosen an open field 3 miles from their position. The field tilted slightly to their advantage but most importantly, the fight would take place far from the tree line, as was instructed. This hardly gave them a significant advantage though, but it meant Robb was absolutely sure that Tywin would meet him there.

After a few hours of marching, the army reached the designated battlefield. The northern lords did what they could with the terrain. They started organizing the men in the best way possible.

For the first time in a week, Robb started acting like himself. Confidently and intelligently dictating the various positions and functions of the different military units. But it was quite clear to every one of the men in the command tent, that no matter how good they placed the archers and no matter how effectively they used the cavalry, this was a lost cause. 70.000 was just a much bigger number than 20.000. Still. It didn't matter because it was too late to change anything now. All Robb could do was hope.

Shortly after the various delegations were in position, a panicking scout was racing across the field on his horse. 20 minutes later, the Lannister army could be seen coming out of the trees in full force.

It was a large field. Large enough to easily hold the almost 100.000 men that was currently standing on it. The sky was cloudy but it didn't look like it was about to rain. The two armies where standing motionlessly, starring at each other. Suddenly a horn sounded from the Lannister side. It was tradition that in planned battles like this, the commanders would meet each other before hand, but it seemed like Tywin thought that a waste of time. After the horn sounded, the Lannister infantry started marching.

"Reasonable" Robb thought. The warden of the west must have assumed that assassinating him might have been the reason for this suicidal course. Lord Umber signaled that it was time to launch the attack but Robb dismissed his request. He would wait. If a dragon suddenly appeared in the sky then he would want his men as far away from that as possible. If not, then he would signal for an organized retreat, consequences be dammed.

The even sound of trained Lannister marching was the only thing, that could be heard in the beginning. Then slowly a sound of shaking armor, light sobbing and the occasional whelp could be heard. The air was thick with fear as the seemingly endless wave of red armored men where drawing closer and closer.

Soon they were within arrow distance and the Lannister archers nooked and drew their bows, ready to fire. The northen lords gave Robb almost pleading looks as they were desperate for him to call for action, but he didn't move. Their archers didn't draw but for some reason the Lannister archers didn't fire either.

Robb could see Lord Tywin on his horse in the back, his arm raised above his head. Should he drop it, a wall of arrows would be unleashed by the Lannister army, but he hesitated. Robb could not make out his face but his confusion was evident. This simply made no sense.

It didn't seem real. Like something was wrong. The northern lords had completely stopped trying to figure out what was going on. He could hear the lords discussing the strange situation in low voices "It could be that Robb had made a deal Tywin. If he released no arrows then Tywin would not either? That would surely favor the northern side."

The confusion was spreading to the men as well, both northerners and Lannister men alike. Despite the confusion though they continued marching forward at an even pace.

Before long the Lannister army were less than 25 meters away and Robb was moments away from sounding the retreat but then suddenly, every man in the field looked to the sky.

Something that could only be described as the sound of destruction itself, ripped through the air.

Everything froze. The Lannister army stopped marching, the northmen stopped shaking. Everyone just looked at the sky towards where that horrible sound had come from. Then the source of the noise revealed itself.

Above the northern army, out of cloud cover burst out an enormous, black dragon. As it became visible it let out another roar and this time, people reacted. Many of the northmen panicked and started deserting their post, but most of them just stood frozen in place, as they could tell the dragon wasn't headed for them.

The Lanniser army was a different story. They screamed and dropped their shields and weapons just to run faster, but it didn't matter. There was way too many soldiers crammed together, and people were falling over each other, blocking the way. Then it happened.

The great dragon opened its mouth and out poured an enormous pillar of flames. The pillar hit the ground, and the flames spread like a tsunami to all sides. It was almost too bright to look directly at it. The flames spread outwards and swallowed everything up. The sound of the flames hitting the earth was like reality itself being ripped apart while the ground violently shook around them.

Hundreds died every few seconds and the flames kept pouring out of the beast. It was like an image from hell. Everywhere he looked Lannister men were burning or screaming though he could not hear anything, for the sound of the flames crashing into the ground was so loud, everything else was drowned out. A massive crater could be traced in the ground wherever the fire had hit.

Luckily the flames stopped after a few minutes and the beast landed instead, somewhere behind the Lannister lines. Then the sound of screams finally penetrated the air. The Lannister forces where running everywhere to get away from the fire. A large chunk of them had even run to the northern army and Robb started screaming for his Lords to attack. They looked at him in a daze as if they could not comprehend what had happened. Pure desperation gripped Robb as he shouted with everything he had "ATTACK! DO YOU WANT IT TO TURN TO US!?"

This seemed to have woken the northern lords from their stupor. They started relaying the message to their surrounding officers, and soon the northen army started killing Lannister soldiers like they were plagued men trying to infect them.

They didn't even have to move as there was a steady stream of them running from the flames towards them constantly. Any resemblance of sympathy or pity was gone. The only thing left was fear. Right now they would do anything it took to keep that beast away.


	5. Chapter 5 - The lion bows

**Hello again. I hope you like the chapter :-) I always found it extremely disappointing to read fanfiction about Tywin, because his character is so hard to get right. Prideful yet logical. Practical yet cruel. Of course also fiercely intelligent and resourceful. It is very difficult to find the right balance. I tried my best to stay true to his real character in the face of overwhelming power, but let me know if you didn't like it and why. As for future parings. I am not sure, that will depend on how the story progresses. **

**Chapter 5 - The lion bows**

"Things seems to be going as expected" I told Ragni as we were flying over the two armies in the field. "He did well don't you think?" I asked Ragni out of boredom.

**Indifference.**

Was the response I got. "Haha I figured".

An important detail to note about dragons was that they had very little emotion towards other creatures. This is a fact that puzzled the scholars of Valyria for many years, because once a dragon was bound to a master, it would suddenly develop intense emotions of affection towards its master. Through contract magic they were compelled to obey, but for some reason feelings they were not supposed to posses would suddenly develop.

This seems to be very unnatural behavior since no contracted creature elsewhere behaves in a similar way when bound. That might suggest that dragons were created rather than evolved, but we didn't know for sure for we hardly possessed any information of their origin.

Although dragons thrive in volcanic landscapes, even we couldn't be certain of where they initially came from, but most Valyrians suspect that they originated from the shadowlands.

This theory is supported by some of the bolder dragon riders of the past because they reported that on their journeys to the cursed lands, they saw fresh traces of dragon fire. This proves nothing of course as all manner of demonic beings roam that forsaken place, but it was a strong indicator.

I have personally seen many of the grotesque and twisted creatures from that land, captured by its borders in order to be used for various experiments.

On dragon back, the outer borders of the shadowlands were perfectly safe, but as soon as riders travelled further inland, thing started getting strange. Either they would return, having not seen anything other than more of the dark landscape, or they would disappear without a trace.

It was my fathers belief, that a great empire once ruled the shadowlands and that in a different era, they created the dragon race. He said that they opened a gate to another world which caused it to pour into ours, cursing the land for all eternity.

Others thought that those lands where the resting place of a fallen dark god and that his corps remains to this day, poisoning the land and spawning demons from his ancient flesh.

Either theory was supported by the ancient ruins build by oily black stone, which seems to be an abandoned empire. The numerous and great ruins suggest that the land was not always cursed, and that it underwent some sort of cataclysm, probably much similar to the one of my homeland.

This was all speculation and no concrete evidence favoring a single theory had ever been presented.

It was a certainty though, that dragons are the absolute apex predators of the known world. Dragons hold no fear towards any creatures other than their own kind and they do not possess any feelings of pity or sympathy.

This changes when a dragon binds with a rider. Intense feelings can develop, not just towards the rider but also to an extent, towards the people close to their riders. Ragni would give his life for mine in a heartbeat and he would also risk his own safety for my parents.

Though, when it came to the average human, he could burn them by the thousands without the slightest feelings of apprehension or remorse. To him, the normal man was simply another animal to be preyed upon. The only reason for restraint would be my influence.

So naturally he cared very little about the test of leadership I had given the boy below, but I thought it impressive. Without ever disclosing the reason why, he had managed to make 20.000 men walk to certain death. Not a single deserter. Not a single act of rebellion. It was even more impressive taking his age into consideration.

I decided at that moment, my plans for the boy after I had conquered Westeros.

As afternoon drew closer, the army in red started marching forward.

"When they start releasing arrows we will descend" I told Ragni as I strapped myself well into the saddle.

**Exited.**

But as the armies came within bow distance neither side reacted.

I laughed "Haha! I really did underestimate that boy. And that other commander too."

It was a marvel to see. I was certain that every instinct of the famed Tywin Lannister, screaming at him that something is wrong, but he couldn't figure out what.

"It dawns on me how narrow minded I am." I thought to myself, as I considered how much I had disregarded, what I considered savages in the past. But now was not the time for self-reflection.

The armies continued drawing closer and before long I judged it to be the optimal time. I gave the command: "Time to go Ragni. Let them hear you first" I yelled as I directed him to start diving.

A roar worthy of a dragon of the an absolute peak bloodline sounded and we went into a straight dive through the clouds. The army beneath became visible to the naked eye as Ragni pierced through the cloud cover. He let out another deafening roar, and barreled towards the soldiers beneath.

I sent him a mental message "Only burn the red soldiers. The others are friendly"

**Undestand.**

Was the response and just before we were directly above the Lannister army I gave the command; "Fire." (It is implied that they are speaking Valyrian, so what he is actually saying is "Dracarys").

Ragni let loose his might upon the ground. Hundreds were swallowed up by the flames. It was an overwhelmingly magnificent and cruel scene to spectate. The army beneath was completely helpless.

They obviously had no dragons of their own, but neither did they have any defenses against an air born attack. Well. It is not as if it would have mattered. Ragni had a hide almost as strong as spellforged steel. Only a heavily enchanted weapon could hope to even scratch him and he was well trained in protecting his rider from projectiles.

Ragni was still letting out a pillar of flames when I spotted, what had to be the commander of the army, riding away from his troops. I don't know whether or not Tywin was amongst them but I deemed it likely.

Many would say it was cowardice to abandon the army like that, but there was nothing they could do. At the very least, they signaled for retreat before they left, but that was unnecessary, because the soldiers were retreating all on their own.

I sent a message to Ragni, as the sound of his fire would surely drown out my yelling;

"Hey! I think they have had enough. See those people over there? Fly over and land in front of them." I pointed to the delegation of commanders whom were still galloping towards the edge of the field.

Ragni seized his fire breathing abruptly and then flapped his wings and flew towards the escaping party. The ground shook and the horses went wild as Ragni crashed down in front of them. A few of the men were thrown of their horses, but most of them managed to get their horses to stop.

He then lowered his neck to the ground so I could jump of. I considered the men in front of me, still struggling with their mounts. I picked out who I thought was the commander, based oh his attire, but more so because everyone kept looking to him for instructions at what to do.

With Ragni at my back starring down at the officers, I walked towards them. During this time most of them had managed to get of their horses, and they formed a group behind the elderly, bald man with a blond beard.

I thought he was handling things remarkably well. Even as the "brave" officers behind him where shacking and wailing, he didn't show even the slightest change in expression other than a cold and stoic look. He even started walking towards me having to turn to his men several times because they were reluctant to follow.

Soon we stood face to face. I was significantly taller than him, but that didn't seem to deter him either. A nostalgic feeling came to me because he reminded me of my uncle. Proud, strong and fiercely intelligent, though with an almost sadistic streak to him. To him, cruelty was a useful tool to be used to further the families interests. Arguably, he was the most capable man in the family, which was why he was in charge of our slaves, whilst also being an archmage.

"My name is Tywin Lannister. I am the warden of the west and hand of the king." Said the bald man as he met my gaze.

"I know" I said, wanting to see what he would do next.

He did not disappoint. A few seconds passed, and then without a word he drew his sword. I instinctively placed my hand on my sword hilt but to my surprise, instead of using it, he got down on one knee and laid it at my feet. Immediately the men behind him followed his action. With theirs heads looking down and their swords on the ground in front of them, Tywin spoke:

"Would you give me the honor of allowing me to swear an oath of loyalty to you and proclaim you my king."

With a hint of amusement in my voice I answered "You are quick to understand the situation, Lord Tywin."

The older man didn't flinch at the disrespectful tone, he just waited silently, completely avoiding glancing at the dragon at my back.

I kept the slight smile on my face and retorted: "Alright, fine. If you and your men swear an oath of servitude, I shall let you retain your titles and land, granted you obey me as king."

Without hesitation Tywin began swearing what I assumed was the Lannister oath of fealty. The men behind him then mimicked his chant. After they were done they remained in a kneeling position. I realized I had to give them leave so I motioned them to rise with my hand.

Now standing face to face with me, Tywin opened his mouth to speak but I interrupted him. I decided to test him a little.

"I am touched by your loyalty Lord Tywin, but I must confess that thoughts of worry plague me. For you so easily cast aside your own king for another, your own grandson even. A paranoid man might even consider the possibility, that should my circumstances change in the future, then you would simply cast me aside for whomever it would suit you best to serve." I said with obvious fake sincerity.

Tywin didn't change his expression even for a moment but he did stiffen a bit. He was not used to be in a position, where people would mock him. The men behind him, despite their still lingering fear of the beast behind me, visibly flinched at my provocation. It was almost amusing to see them squirming in dilemma. They were used to the iron rule of Tywin but they also knew that should he provoke me now, it might mean death for all of them.

Tywin cleared his throat and with firm lecturing voice he said: "Your grace. Forgive me for asking this, but are you aware of the history of the seven kingdoms. How the seven kingdoms where united under one royal crown?"

I nodded my head slightly in response before he continued:

"Then you know of my family history. The Lannisters were once the kings of the Westerlands but my ancestor, Loren Lannister, lay his crown at the feet of the Aegon Targaryen at the field of fire. And since that day, for almost 300 years the Lannisters have served the Targaryen rule, loyally." He stopped to collect himself, but I spoke first:

"Yes I know of your history of loyalty. I know how "loyally" you served the last Targaryen king, especially your eldest sons loyalty was truly worthy of praise" I said as my tone was getting more serious.

I was no spoiled and naïve rich noble... well maybe spoiled, but I knew whatever the noble Lord Tywin was about to say, would be hollow words. If the stakes were high enough then he would always choose the strategy with the best chance of a successful outcome. That meant he would betray me in a heartbeat if he had too, no matter how well I had treated him.

What I was trying to ascertain was, whether or not he would actively work against me to further his own interests. In my time at the citadel I had learned how he build his house back up from the brink of ruin. He was a very capable man that much was a certainty, but would he use that capability for, or against would certainly do anything in his power to gain influence over me, but that was entirely acceptable. So long as he didn't actively sabotage me in secret. In other words, I was deciding whether I could use him directly or not.

My uncle had taught me a simple yet very effective strategy for learning of a persons true opinion. Simply provoke them into a slight anger, by criticizing them unfairly in some way. No matter which position you were in, people would always have a great urge to speak out in their own defense, and even sometimes return the criticism. How they defended themselves could tell you a lot about the true feelings they held towards you, and could even provoke them to reveal previously unknown information.

This time he answered immediately, completely unprovoked.

"Yes it is true, I did betray my last king. However, as I am sure you know, he was ill with madness. And yet I served him well as his hand for more than 20 years. I swear to you, should you consult any and all with knowledge of the inner court workings at that time, they would tell you that I wielded the true power in Westeros for all those years. Yet, I did not betray him. I watched in silence as he burned men, women and children alive whilst laughing all the while, yet I never rebelled, for he was the king. It was only when his madness grew to the point where even I could not contain it, that I was forced to act against him."

He stopped to gaze my reaction and I nodded and motioned for him to continue.

"And after a mad king came a drunken king. The once great warrior had no interest in ruling and as I am sure you will come to understand soon, he left the kingdom in financial ruin. Even so, whenever he would ask, I would give him from my own family fortune, knowing I would never be repaid." He finished.

He was a competent negotiator and he hadn't responded to my provocation at all. I suspected he might have used it in the past himself. It was obvious he was leading the conversation, but since he didn't take the bait, I decided to play along with it for now.

"I am sure the kings of your past were touched by your loyalty, but this doesn't change the fact you are still betraying your own blood as we speak" I retorted in a bored, overly monotone voice, to point out to him that I was very aware, that this is what he wanted me to ask.

"Yes, my grandson. The king. A boy who prefers to torture animals to leading his people. Yet again, I find myself with the responsibility of curving the mad impulses of a demented mind. And yet again, it is I who is the true ruler of Westeros. It is I, that must sacrifice my men and wealth to fight for the king in his stead, because of a war he started with his cruelty and stupidity. I will not pretend that the reason I proclaim you king is not because I want to save the life of my men and my own. It also true however, that I am sincerely thanking the gods, that a man like you have appeared to put back together this broken realm." With that, he took a step back and indicated that he was finished.

I acknowledged his ability to twist the facts to his advantage. Even if I did not know of the previous power struggles of the inner royal courts, I could see some of his deception. He didn't lend his money to the kingdom out of generosity, he did it to keep the crown on a leash. He absolutely did not keep his grandson on the throne out of loyalty. It was simply easier to manipulate him rather than the alternative, because even if he had all the "true" power in Westeros, taking the throne without a claim was another matter entirely.

It meant little though. I was convinced that the realm and his own interests were largely aligned, so in a sense he had passed the test. There was still the question of exactly what to do with him once the iron throne was mine, but that was a headache for the future. I was lost in thought when I realized they were staring at me in anticipation of my response. I told them:

"Alright Lord Tywin, I accept your loyalty as sincere. We will meet again 2 days from now in this very spot. For now on, I imagine you have important matters to see to" as I directed their gaze to the insane panic stricken horde of men that was their army.

Lord Tywin gave a courtly bow like it was as natural to him as breathing and with the remark "your grace", he started giving out commands.

I got back on Ragni and urged him to fly towards the northern host. Ragni quickly approached the northerners and I could see Robb and the other lords yelling for their men to stay calm. He had not been idle, for there was scattered Lannister bodies all over the field around his army.

I landed Ragni in front of them. Just as I had gotten of my dragon, the boy had already run up to me.

"Your grace. We followed the plan and attacked after your opening attack. Seeing that the Lannister army formation and morale is shattered we hesitated to charge in, but we will do so at your word." He said with a nervous tone.

I answered with a commanding tone "No. It is quite alright. I have had a meeting with Lord Tywin and he has sworn his loyalty to me. In two days we will convey on this very field to discuss future plans. I trust you have no objections to this."

It was clear that the boy was less than pleased to have to unite with the Lannisters, but he gave a deep bow and I granted him leave.

I gave the battlefield one last look before I took off. The Lannister camp had managed to somewhat organize a march towards their camp. Various teams were rearing in the thousands of stragglers wondering the field and surrounding forest in panic and confusion. Already teams of riders with water were returning from a local creek to quench the still remaining fires and to treat the burn victims best they could. Lucky for them, the weather here was damp so the fires weren't spreading and slowly dying out.

I allowed myself a moment of satisfaction and said "Ragni! It seems and exiting time awaits us here." And I was in the air.


	6. Chapter 6 - Negotiations

**Hello again. If anyone is still reading this story, then i hope you like the chapter. I know i haven't been active in about half a year but i might start posting chapters again soon. **

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**Chapter 6 Negotiations**

Two days had passed since the battle had taken place and the meeting was drawing close.

I had spent most of my time in solitude in the northern camp, trying to formulate a plan for the coming future. I was living in the king's tent, on the edge of the camp. Normally, the kings tent would always be near the center, so as to better protect it, but for obvious reasons no one questioned my security.

By my tent lay Ragni, ever ready to aim his terrifying gaze at anyone foolish enough to come too close.

Inside the tent, I spent my time brooding over what to do. With my overwhelming military might it would be easy to conquer the seven kingdoms, but I didn't just want to rule the kingdoms using fear and violence forever. It was the only option for now, but I wanted a stable seat of permanent authority. Luckily I had just the thing to help me with that.

I hardly had contact with anyone in the camp but I occasionally met with the young, now officially former, king in the command tent. We would discuss the future of the north and also, Robb would try to explain as best as possible, the actual political events that had taken place in the recent years, not just the official recorded version.

Luckily for the both of us, Robb was no fool and he understood his position very well, despite the constant complaints from his fellow northern lords. It was almost as if they had forgotten, what happened not two days ago. Despite this, Robb Stark was given the title of warden of the north, and swore an oath to serve the Batorion family in perpetuity.

I had a wry smile on my face as the young man was kneeling and an offering up his sword in a symbolic gesture. I always found these hollow oaths distasteful. Only a fool would make a deal that depended on the honor of the other party. After the young man was finished, I had said to him:

"Thank you for your oath, I am honored you delivered it with such sincerity. But let us not carry on this pretense anymore. You serve, because you fear my power."

The new warden of the north was slightly taken aback at this, and was clearly at a loss of what to say. He began: "My lord…. I- "Before I interrupted him again.

"Oh please don't be mistaken Lord Stark. I do not blame you in the slightest. But I hope you won't blame me either, if I take an extra precaution to ensure your loyalty."

Robb looked very puzzled as I tapped my bag of holding with my finger, and a paper appeared on the table the same instance. The paper didn't look old, but it had a particular feeling to it. As if it contained some great wisdom. Robb couldn't read a word of what it said, but he noticed at the bottom, there was a small red circle.

I tore away Robbs gaze from the paper and looked at him in the eyes, seriousness evident on my face for the first time in the conversation.

"There is a very powerful magic spell imbedded in this paper. Magic like this was the key to Valyrian society all those years ago. It is what allowed us to bind dragons to our will and it is what held the Valyrian society together." I said in sincerity as I retrieved a small silver needle from my bag and gave it to him.

The young man was once again speechless and starred at the small needle in his palm. I didn't give him a chance to speak before I continued:

"That small red circle at the bottom of the paper is where you sign. Merely prick your finger and hold it to the paper. For the magic to work you have to willingly sign it. Therefore, you must will your blood to sign the contract. I will know if it is signed correctly."

Robb's face drained of all colour and he took a step back. He certainly didn't wish to put himself under any sort of "magical spell" from the strange man who turned his would upside down. Pure desperation emitted from every pore in his body, as he obviously tried to think of anything he could do to get out of the situation. He even briefly looked to his sword but quickly let saner thoughts prevail. He began pleading: "P-Please you grace, I swear I shall serve you will all of-"

I couldn't be bothered to let him finish before I answered:  
"Robb. Relax. It is a standard spell of servitude. Anyone of any standing in Valyrian society had to sign some form of this contract. It merely ensures that you cannot actively act against my interest."

"Like plan a rebellion behind my back for instance" I thought to myself as I studied the conflicted man in front of me.

I wasn't lying. Even I had signed a standart contract of the draconic, which compelled me to obey the fundamental laws of Valyria. Only the triarchs of power were exempted from any compulsion of contracts. There had to be some individuals above the law for society to function. Instead of contracts, they were tasked to keep each other in check.

I got around the binding laws due to several reasons. First of all, since I truly believed that Valyria didn't exist anymore, the laws that stated to keep the Valyrian monopoly didn't make sense anymore. Another thing was, that more than 400 years had passed since I signed, so the contract spell had weaken severely. Arch mages were required to renew it every 20 years because after such a period of time, they could begin to resist the effects with their own power.

After almost 5 minutes of Robb raising the needle then lowering it again, his internal battle finally came to a rest and he pricked his thumb. He pressed it to the paper and closed his eyes and frowned as he seemed to furiously try to concentrate.

Suddenly the text began lighting up, and he opened his eyes abruptly. The text started coming to life and the red circle started spinning. Then a red line slowly started making its way up, like a snake coiling around his arm. It then slithered across his chest until it found its target. His heart. With an audible thump like a heartbeat, his entire left side of his chest lit up in a red light, with his heart as the center. Then it slowly faded and the paper on the wooden table turned to dust.

I looked at the dust on the table and nodded to myself before I again directed my attention to the confused young man, who was seemingly checking his chest for a wound.

"The spell works in such a way, that you will instinctively know, when you are close to breaking the terms of the contracts. You are free to rule the north however you wish now, and you do not require my permission for anything, unless the contract stated for you to, in which case you will know. Now go prepare, we meet the Lannisters in a few hours." I said to the dumbfounded man in front of me.

It took him minute to fathom what had happened, but he seemed very relieved and with much less effort than before he bowed and said: "Of course, your grace."

* * *

The Lannister camp was much nicer than the northern one. It was set up at the edge of the field were the battle had taken place. Generally, life in the north camp wasn't very comfortable. The food was horrific but I realize long ago, that the lacking quality of things is something I would have to get used too. The entire northern camp also stank, because their standards of hygiene weren't very commendable.

The Lannisters had a variety of comforts and luxuries and a much higher quality of food and lodgings. The structure of the camp was not the same either. Where in the north camp, the only real difference between the lords and soldiers had been the size of their tents, and of course the lords got the better drink. But that was the only real difference.

In the Lannister camp there was a clear separation between noble and soldier. There was a makeshift kitchen, an attempt at a place to bathe and even prostitutes to warm the nobles bed at night.

The two camps were like night and day, and it made me realize, that even though they were part of the same kingdom, there was such an enormous difference in culture. It amazes me how they managed to keep the seven different kingdoms under one rule for more than 300 years. Maybe the power of conventional oaths was greater than I thought.

There was very little sign of the slaughter from before. Despite Ragni having killed thousands with his flames, it wasn't that much out of the 60.000 that had come. The Lannister army had broken instantly, so there really wasn't a need for the battle to be drawn out. Based on me just flying around, I would guess around 6-7000 soldiers died that day.

By the time I landed Ragni outside their camp, Robb was already there waiting with his men. I sent Ragni a mental message: "Fly around the camp while I am in it. Don't make any noise, except fly a bit close to the command tent from time to time, in order to remind them of your presence."

**Yes.**

I didn't want to make it too obvious but I wanted them to constantly be reminded of the weapon that was literally hovering over their heads.

For the meeting I was in full battle gear, but was covered up with a very large grey cloak, the northerners had been so nice to lent me.

Without a word I began walking towards the camp, and the northern lords followed after. Upon reaching the edge of the camp, two lines of soldiers stood perfectly still, marking a path between them. The path lead to what was obviously the command tent.

Inside the tent was a large rectangular table. On the right side sat the Lannister commanders, who immediately stood and bowed upon my entry. At the end of the table stood a chair alone, symbolizing the place of honor. To the right of the chair stood Tywin, who gestured for me to sit down, with his head still slightly bowed.

I sat down at the head chair, and the northern lords took their places on the left side. The higher the status, the closer to me.

I put my elbow on the armrest and tilted my head to rest it on my fist. Realizing he would have to lead, Tywin was the first to break the silence: "Thank you for meeting us here, your grace. We would ask you to please enlighten us to what your plans for the future of the sevens kingdoms are."

I straighten up and looked to the Lannister side of the table: "That will depend on you. You and Lord Robb Stark has already declared me as your king, but I shall test the sincerity of your oath in the future. I would have you carry a message from me. I extend to all the lords of Westeros the same invitation Ageon Targaryen did 300 years ago. Kneel, and you shall retain your land or refuse and be turned to ash."

Some of the Lannister commanders were stunned at the audacity, but Tywin didn't flinch as he kept the stoic expression on his face. He was clearly very used to the battles of words that occurred during meetings such as these. If I wasn't mistaken however, I could for a brief moment detect a touch of relief in him, since he was reassured he would get to keep his lands.

Tywin continued the conversation: "You say you offer the same terms Ageon Targaryen did, might I ask if you are a descendant of his." He asked in a clever manner, since it allowed me to just say no, but it was still a risk for him to pry upon anything regarding my identity.

I hesitated to answer. Up until this point, none of the lords except Robb even knew my real name, and he absolutely hadn't told anyone. Taking over the seven kingdoms would be much less turbulent, should I claim to be a descendant of Ageon. I dismissed the idea quickly though. It was inevitable, that I would start revealing knowledge and abilities far beyond, what that lower tiered Targaryen family was ever capable of. Besides that, I had my own pride. I would never hesitate to state my own family name.

I didn't outwardly react in any way to the question. I starred at Tywin for a while, as if to study him. A tense silence began manifesting in the room, but it was interrupted when Ragni suddenly made a sweep by the tent, that caused it to violently rustle with the wind.

Some of the men in the room grabbed the table in response to the wind and looked to me for a sign of reassurance that they would not be harmed. I turned my head and addressed the whole table as I said:

"No, I have no relations with the Targaryen family. Though I suppose it is time you all learn who I am and why am here, now." I paused to gauge their reactions. They all looked at me with wide eyed anticipation, though the Lannisters hid it far better than the north men. Not that I blamed them. I can imagine they must have been banging their heads on the walls, wondering where this mysterious stranger could have suddenly come from.

I had pondered for quite a while, whether or not to reveal my true identity, but I decided that it would only help me. I even considered if I should claim to be a god, but in the long run that would definitely hurt me. I had no choice, but to teach anything I knew of magic to these people, since I wanted to raise this civilization, to be as close to that of Valyria as possible. If I claimed to be a god though, I couldn't very well be giving my divinity away.

My real status suited me perfectly for my future plans. I was someone who had a wealth of information and power, and could very well bring this kingdom into a new age. I was sure that after I began introducing the kingdoms to some of the grander magical structures, my status would become equivalent to that of a god anyway.

It was almost unfair to the nobles of the land. All their struggles and efforts for power was now effortlessly crushed as this weird looking stranger suddenly appeared. I continued:

"My name is Aerios Batorion. I am the son of Akorios Batorion and Rhyania Batorion. I am the sole member and head of the Batorion family, the triarch family of magic."

I then stood up and pushed the chair back. I tapped my bag of holding and my vectium appeared in my hand, as I dropped the grey cloak around me, revealing the full battle gear.

It was a childish maneuver I knew, but I wanted the full effect of the shock to hit them all, when they learned just who was standing before them.

"Do not compare me with the dragon riders who came here in the past. Even at the height of Valyria's glory, my family stood at the peak of power, ruling as one of the three royal families of Valyria."

I then lifted my vectium and calmly stamped it on the ground. My skin started glowing as flashes of tiny spark of electricity could be traced on the surface constantly. My eyes went from their typical slight glow, to glowing brighter than even a torch, bathing the room in clear blue light.

"I have come here, to bring this kingdom into a new golden age of knowledge, wealth and magic. I shall restore the past glories of Valyria, right here, and make the world bow to the might of the seven kingdoms. A long journey is ahead of all us here and this kingdom. Every journey begins with the first step. Our first step is to take the iron throne."


	7. Chapter 7 - Haste!

**Hello folks! Here is another chapter! I am really sorry if it is hard to read. English is not my first language and I certainly do not have anyone to review the chapters before I post them. Nevertheless I hope some of you still enjoy them, I certainly enjoy writing them :-)**

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Chapter 7 - Haste!

After my demonstration of power, the meeting continued without any trouble. The Lannister lords at the table were almost relieved at my display. Previously their loyalty was conflicted between their old deep rooted fear of Tywin, and the overwhelming threat of this new player, that had suddenly entered the game.

Until a moment ago, it had been unclear, whether they should submit to me completely or unite behind Tywin as some kind of resistance, if only in secret. Now, all doubts were washed away, and they seemed to be convinced to prioritize acting courteous and pleasing me over Tywin.

Old instincts were not so easily ignored though. Tywin might act deferential around me, but when one of them spoke out of turn, all he had to do was look at them with a gaze that could kill, and they shut right up.

Again, he truly reminded me of my uncle. I could easily remember sitting in the corner to observe the meetings between him and lesser dragon lords.

Later in the conversation it became clear that although the Lannisters had respect for Tywin and I, they held the northern lords in complete disdain. It was as if they thought of them as savages, who should not have seats at the table to begin with. On the other hands, the northern lords almost never spoke, with the exception of Robb, who often voiced his opinion, but most of the time they would completely disregard it, no matter how valid it was.

Tywin seemingly picked up on my annoyance with their behavior and with a few discreet reprimanding comments and deadly glares, they suddenly forgot their arrogance entirely.

Myself said very little throughout the meeting. I encouraged the lords to discuss and argue about what to do among themselves, with Tywin leading the conversation. No matter how good or stupid their ideas were, I didn't express any reaction. I had always found this to be the best way to learn the most about the people, I was dealing with.

After about 2 hours though, I thought the meeting had gone about long enough and I slowly stood up from my seat. The arguing lords immediately seized their discussion and looked at me.

With a passive expression I spoke in a calm voice: "Alright, I think I have heard enough now. Here is what we will do. Robb!" I said as I turned to Robb

He straightened in his seat and responded: "Yes, your majesty!"

I continued this time with a much more authoritative voice: "You will take the entirety of your army and march back to the north. When you get there, you will root out all those so called ironborn, that are ravaging the lands, and destroy them. I trust that with your capabilities, this should be an easy task for you. After you are done then give them the message, that Balon Greyjoy has to himself, come to King's Landing and surrender his crown before this year is over. If he doesn't, then I shall personally fly down there, and burn every ship, every castle and every city on their islands."

The entire room was completely silent. The men around the table starred at me with disbelief. The calm and relaxed young boy from before was completely gone, and left in his place was a young man that oozed authority and ruthlessness.

Robb broke the silence as he stood from his chair and bowed deeply: "As you command, my king."

He then hesitated for a moment, but I urged him to continue on and he said: "Your grace. I do not know if you are aware, but my two sisters are currently in the capital. Since the conflict between our two kingdoms are over, if it is not too much to ask, might I request for them to be released and sent home."

Murmuring broke out amongst the Lannister nobles and I could faintly hear one of them say "But Lady Sansa is betrothed to king Joff- I mean lord Joffrey."

I already had the north under my complete control with Robb, so I answered him rather easily: "I will send your youngest sister home, but I will let the older one choose for herself, whether she wishes to remain or return. I shall make sure they are escorted by a company of guards, the entire way back to Winterfell."

Relief flushed over the former king, as he bowed once again and sat down. I didn't give any room for discussions between the Lannisters, as I turned to Tywin and continued in a firm voice:

"When Stannis attack, the capital will fall within an hour. If we send all our cavalry, both northern and southern, in advance, it would only delay the defeat a few more hours. We must make it there before them with infantry. Tywin, if we break camp and march immediately, can we make it to king's landing and intercept Stannis?"

The warden of the west didn't hesitate for a moment as he answered:

"If we force march the men and stop only a few hours a day, I believe it is possible, your grace."

I then stood up and gave my final command to the table: "I judge you all know what to do now. See to it, that we move before nightfall. You are dismissed."

The men at the table all stood and bowed, before they began pushing and running out of the tent. Only Tywin walked out in an orderly manner. I considered calling for him to remain, but decided against it. I thought to myself: "It isn't time to have that conversation yet. Let's see how he handles the coming trial first."

No matter how I wished to carry out my plans for this kingdom, I would need a very capable right hand to rule in my stead. One that already possesses a stable seat of power, and one that knows the kingdom to a great extent. Tywin is the obvious prime candidate for this role, given both his capabilities and experience, but I thought I would test him before I made the offer.

Even if I swoop in and is proclaimed the saviors of King's Landing, the capital will erupt, when it learns of a stranger suddenly wresting the crown for himself.

I thought there could be no better test of the man's abilities, than to handle the coming turmoil. If he disappoints me, then I shall simply wait a bit and consider other potential candidates, but I doubt it would be necessary. If he was half the man my uncle was, then I couldn't hope for a better hand.

I smiled to myself in anticipation. This was going to be very interesting.

* * *

The sun was beginning to turn orange while I sat on Ragni's back and watched the camp disappear before my eyes. They were surprisingly efficient, and before long, the huge field covered in tents were empty, except for the soldiers, horses and carts, lined up in a neat and organized manner.

Outside the bare essentials, everything else would be left behind the infantry to be transported back in a slow and orderly manner.

Ahead of them was a long journey, and even at maximum speed it would take almost four days to get back. I instinctively looked down at Ragni who lay half sleeping, with his head under his wing.

If I set of now, I could be over the capital before the next morning, and I could fly out and burn Stannis' fleet down to the last ship, long before it reached its destination. It was tempting, but I had decided against it. I wanted it to be known, that the Lannister and Stark army moved and fought at my command.

A military victory using soldiers would count for far more in terms of elevating my status. If I flew out and burned them to death, it would only fuel the rumors that I was a demon sent from hell.

Another thing was, if I came just in the nick of time to save the castle, I might change the narrative from about myself from foreigner to savior. Combined with the great accomplishment of ending the northern rebellion and bringing them once again, under the rule of the iron throne, it would help me greatly in stabilizing my rule. Even if the way I "ended" the rebellion of the north was by burning thousands of Lannister soldiers alive, it didn't matter.

Drums and the never ending monotone marching sound men in armor made when they marched in great numbers filled the air. The only other thing, was the occasional cry as the officers hit the stragglers with wooden clubs.

The high-ranking officers rode on horses and likewise their belongings were in wagons pulled by horses. This allowed them to send their personal servants ahead and set up their camp, long before the main bulk of the army arrived. They would take turns every night, as some had to stay and watch the men, but the others could ride ahead and get a comfortable, full night's sleep.

They set up a tent for me as well of course. I slept in the king's tent, as it was now called. Considering the circumstances, I couldn't ask for anything better, but it was still far from what I was used to. The bedding they used especially annoyed me, so I only ever slept in the stuff I had in my bag of holding. Ever since birth, I had been laying on beds made from the special silk, we received from trading with the Yi Ti empire.

I quickly learned that the finest of wines Westeros, were completely undrinkable to me, but the food was of somewhat decent quality.

Tywin refused to partake in the custom of riding ahead. Although he rode on a horse, he stayed with the men and slept only when they did, but I suspected that was only because he knew I would take notice.

I, myself spent the days riding Ragni around to see the land. It was different from the nature in Essos, but I quite liked it. In Essos everything tended to get dusty, but here everything was wet. The air was much colder when flying, but it felt cleaner without the dust.

By the third day of marching I discovered how utterly boring marching truly was. I could finally understand why the Valyrian dragonlords would go through such lengths to avoid going with their men. When one of the Valyrian legions moved, the troops and supplies would always move long before their lords, sometimes weeks before the dragon lords even left Valyria. For an official mage even of the lowest rank, it was simplicity itself to send a message over long distances, and it didn't take long to catch up to walking men on dragon back.

By the end of the day, we reached the designated rest spot and I landed Ragni in the middle of the camp. In the beginning, every time I flew close, I could practically see the fear and nervousness of the men, humming in the air above them. After the first day, the men were exhausted beyond caring about it. Most of them didn't even bother to strip their armor, and collapsed where they stood to sleep. This was, unfortunately, the nature of forced marching. It was hard enough to march a single day in plate armor with a full night's sleep. They had to do it with at most four hours of sleep at night, at a back breaking pace, several days in a row.

I entered the command tent set up hours before by riders, and found Tywin standing at the head of the table, informing the various officers about the coming battle plan. He looked tired and ragged, with large dark circles under his eyes, but his expression was hard and he showed no sign of weakness in his stature.

The moment they say me, they all immediately stood and bowed, before Tywin told them to leave us. I pulled a chair away from the table and sat down on it, facing Tywin before speaking:  
"How long before we are there?"

Tywin pulled out a chair from the table and sat down also.

"We will reach King's Landing before tomorrow night, but it isn't fast enough. Stannis will be there by noon and he will only wait for dusk before he attacks. If we force the men to march faster or without breaks, we will lose half to exhaustion before we get there, and the other half won't be worth anything in the battle." Tywin said, emphasizing on the seriousness of the situation.

But there was more to his words than seriousness, he was hinting at me to do something.

He was smart enough to know why I hadn't just flown ahead with my dragon. He knew, that if I wanted to go, I would just suggest it myself, and if I didn't, then I would keep silent. If he asked me directly it, he would be pressuring me, and undermining my will, even if to save a city.

"Then you best hope the city holds out for more than an hour." I said in a flat tone, not giving anything away.

Seeing that I wasn't biting, he cleared his throat and spoke in a very uncharacteristic manner:

"Your grace. Perhaps you would allow me a suggestion. If you fly your dragon there now, you could arrive long before Stannis attacks. I am sure even the sight of it, will be enough to discourage him from attacking."

I let the silence linger in the air for a while. I wanted him to know, he was treading on dangerous ground, but I could understand his reasons. Things would be much more complicated if the city fell, and his own position might even come under threat. It was his job to defend the city, but he had surrendered to me instead, so if he couldn't make it himself, I was his best option. That meant, he was stuck between two hard places. After all, I was still an entirely unknown factor, so he had to take a certain risk, if he wanted to influence me directly like this.

I released him from the tension but I still answered solemnly:

"I will fly there at first light. I will land outside King's Landing without being seen, but only if the city is truly lost, will I intervene. Make sure I do not have to." Tywin bowed his head a little deeper than normal indicating is gratitude and I stepped out the tent, into a blanket of moonlight.

After a bad night's sleep I woke up early and flew off with Ragni into the morning sky.

* * *

It had hardly been two hours before I reached the capital of Westeros. It couldn't even remotely compare to the splendor of Valyria, but it was a beautiful sight in its own right. The large castle at the top of the rocky hill especially, was something that must have taken generations to build. I believe it was referred to as the Red Keep, given the slightly red bricks it was build with.

The city was full of activity. Hundreds of men were doing repairs and preparing the walls for a siege. It wouldn't make much of a difference. Stannis had five times the soldiers, to every one defender, and I was assured he knew their defenses well.

I had cast another refraction spell on Ragni and it was a bright day, so I could fly quite close to the city without worry. There was much to see down there, and a few impressive structures were built if considering the tools they have available.

It was still a depressing thought, that this was the new center of the world.

As morning turned to noon, I landed Ragni in a clearing in the forest, not far from the city, and got off. I scratched him on the head and he made a low growling sound.

"I am afraid we have to part here for a while, friend. I cannot arrive in the city on the back of you, but make sure to remain close by at all times. It is likely I might need you tonight. I will cast the normal spell on you, so you won't be seen, but be careful about flying to low anyway." I said to him as I gave his snout a hug.

Ragni leaned his head into the hug but responded in his usual manner:

**Understood. **

I then turned around and began walking out of the clearing, before I heard a great gust of wind behind me, and the surrounding trees violently rustle and then the great beast was gone.

It took me less than an hour to reach the city, but entering wouldn't be simple. The city was completely closed already, to prevent Stannis from organizing some sort of attack from within the walls during the battle. I had to find another way in.

From what I could tell from flying around, I had a pretty good guess at were Stannis would be attacking. The troops were fairly spread out, but I found it odd that most of the provisions and arrow barrels was concentrated at one particular gate.

It was section of the wall by the sea. It was easy to invade from boat and not a very sturdy gate from the looks of it.

This was very good for me, because right after the gate, the terrain would become rocky and begin to rise. If you stood on the wall at the gate, no more than 50 meters to your left, would be a massive rock face.

I went down to the beach before the gate. Although it was broad daylight and I could easily be seen, the beach was filled with people dragging away their boats and various stalls, that hadn't been allowed into the city harbor. I was wearing a typical brown-yellow merchants cloak, I had taken from the Lannister camp. Everyone was so busy with their own plight, that I was hardly noticed.

I kept walking until both the wall and most of the beach was replaced with rock, and a bend in the cliff appeared. There was no people here, and no one could see me from either the wall nor the beach.

Clearing my mind to focus I began gathering the energy within me, and then muttered the spell _argentia de vida_.

From my bag of holding, a stream of silver started falling onto the sand. Instead of flowing downwards, it collected into a perfectly round ball by my side, reaching up to my hip.

Living mage silver. This represented my mother's life work. It was her greatest magical accomplishment, and it is what secured her place as a permanent arch mage of Valyria.

It was her gift for me, the day I was confirmed as a grand mage. Every time I look at it, I recall the look of pride she had. Her son, despite my destructive natural talent, were confirmed a grand mage at the age of seventeen.

Mage silver was an extremely conductive magical metal, that was used in nearly all high grade artifacts. It would let the wielder manipulate magic with almost no loss of energy. Mage silver had a down side though. It was extremely difficult and expensive to make, and it was even more difficult to mold it. If you tried to heat it up, the internal channels would be ruined, and it would return to being ordinary silver. Only using various magical procedures are mages able to slowly change its shape.

My mother had completely defied these rules, and managed to turn the silver into a liquid substance. The silver could no longer be enchanted, since any existing runes or inscriptions couldn't retain their shape on liquid, but it allowed for something else. Since the metal was so conductive of magical energy, it was extremely easy to manipulate it.

This allowed it so be used for almost anything, from a sterile and precise tool in alchemy, to a very effective weapon in close quarter combat.

I manipulated the silver to from a plate underneath my feet, and then began climbing up the rocky cliff. It was easy for me to use it in such a way. All I had to do was make it stick to wall, flow into every little hole and crack in the rock, and then solidify it to completely stick. Before long, I had found a perfect little viewing platform, high in the air yet close to the gate.

Dangling my feet of the ledge, I waited for the sun to set.


	8. Chapter 8 - The first step

**Hello everybody! I really hope you enjoy the chapter! I actually ended up spending a lot of time on this one. I messed up the timeline a bit, but i think i did it in a rather inconsequential way. If there is anything I forgot, then please let me know!**

**Also, I have the overarching structure of the full story planned out, but I would really appreciate it, if some of you could let me know, what you think I should do in the future. **

* * *

Chapter 8 - The first step

From the ledge I could hear the vibrant city buzzing below me. My head leaned against the cliff wall and my eyes were closed, but after a few hours I noticed something.

The city was getting quiet, and by the time the sun had gone down, every time one of the soldiers coughed, it could be heard clearly in the silence. I could feel the solemn atmosphere linger in the air, and a tension that kept on growing.  
Then without warning, the silence was broken by a bell ringing loudly. The enemy had been spotted, and the city erupted.

Whoever had prepared the defense had been right, because the attack was clearly concentrated on this gate. Soldiers from all over the city streamed to the gate, and the once quiet city was now filled with noise of bells and shouting.

The night was starless and a heavy mist lay above the water. Even so, it wasn't long before I could see the shape of boats appearing in the darkness, coming out in great numbers.

The entire bay became filled with the dark shapes, and I could tell already, that the shivering soldiers on the walls, would not hold for long. But to my surprise, something unexpected happened. From the other side of the bay, a single ship sailed out, and continued towards the incoming fleet.

I suddenly sat up straight and studied it. There was something being steadily poured into the water from the bow of the ship. I was amazed when I realized what it was.

"Nahh, that can't be. How the hell do they have so much of that stuff?" I thought to myself as the ship started sailing into Stannis' fleet.

But sure enough. Someone threw a torch of the wall and in the next instance a fire arrow was sailing across the sky, before it hit the water and a wave of green flames sprang to life and rushed towards the boat.

BOOM!

The explosion was blinding. The entire world covered in the green light. Then the noise died down and was replaced with the screams of men coming from the bay. Dozens of ships had been swallowed by the green flames and even more were still in flames, as burning debris was flying everywhere.

I quickly recovered from my surprise and praised who ever came up with that plan.

"It wasn't exactly an elegant maneuver, but I commend their resourcefulness. It will not win them the battle, but if nothing else, it bought them time." I thought to myself in slight amusement.

The explosion ended in an instant, but the huge green fireball still lingered behind floating over the water. It was almost strangely beautiful to look at. Suddenly I felt an extreme sense of alarm and my body jerked in response.

It was the last thing I expected after I saw the state of the world here, but I could feel an unmistakable chill crawl up my spine. Someone here, was using magic!

And as if on cue, the huge ball of fire started distorting and begun changing shape. It molded itself into a thick green wave and began to slowly move towards the gate.

I was completely taken aback at the development. Manipulating so much fire was no small feat. Luckily, Valyrians didn't have odd looking eyes for no reason.

Mine began glowing brighter, and the world around me lost all colours and shape and turned into pitch blackness, with a few exceptions. In the sky, a small sun came into being directly above me, many times brighter than anything else here.

It was of course my dragon. Even before the doom, Ragni had stood out as a being with an overwhelming amount of magic. I tried to ignore his radiance, and focused on the fleet of ships in the bay.

Wildfire, as it was called in the common tongue, was classified a magical, alchemical substance, but in reality, it contained very little actual magical energy. That was lucky for me, for despite the enormous amount, I was still capable of seeing past it.

To my annoyance, I still couldn't detect whoever was manipulating the flames. I considered sending a message to Ragni, commanding him to fly away so that I could see better, but then I spotted something out of the corner of my eye.

A small and dim red flame, could be seen in the distance. The magic energy was so weak, I thought it was a coincidence the person was here, but as I focused my vision, I began to see the tiny strings that connected the person to the fire.

It didn't make any sense though. The figure possessed an almost negligible amount of magic, not nearly enough to control so much fire.

"Oh right! I know what's going on. It must be like those priests of Rhoynar. Through contact with their gods, they could transform their own body into a vectium of sorts, whilst the god provides and controls the magic itself." I thought as I clapped my hands at the revelation.

"I recall them having some sort of divination ability as well. I suspect my arrival might have stimulated the priest enough to have a vision about today." I thought while I summoned my vectium to my right hand. I then spoke out loud in her direction:

"It is unfortunate for you, that you met me this night, for the might of a Valyrian battlemage shall not be outdone by some back alley god!"

I opened my connection with Ragni, and from him, a river of raw energy started flowing into me. I then gripped my vectium tightly and focused on the green flames.

The wave of flames stopped in its tracks completely, as if it had clashed with an invisible wall. The flames then slowly began to gather themselves together again into a perfectly round ball, that began drifting higher and higher.

The ball grew smaller and brighter, until suddenly from the ball, a dragon made from flames burst out. The dragon flew over the ships, lighting up the sky and the clouds as it flew along. It flew into the distance behind the ships until without warning, it exploded and released a shock wave that could be traced over the water.

I leaned back against the wall and made a chuckle under my breath. I figured this would confuse them quite a bit.

Confused or not, the ships still landed in the bay and a battle broke lose. Despite the trick with the wild fire, the defenders were still heavily outnumbered. When the fighting started flowing into the city, it would be too late for me to do anything, without burning much of it down. Even though Tywin could show up any moment now, I decided the second they break down the gate, I would have to intervene.

I signaled for Ragni to fly past the ledge very slowly, and just before he did, I jumped with all my might and cast a levitation spell. He swept me up in an elegant maneuver we had practiced many times in the past. Wanting to get a better estimation of the situation down there, I directed him to fly higher into the sky.

The city was almost broken, but looking down I spotted what I had been waiting for, all night.

"Finally!" I said to Ragni and directed him to move.

* * *

Any sorcerer given the title of battlemage, must have fought in at least one conflict of soldiers. Given the evolution of Valyrian dragons and our control of them, battlemages had become rather obsolete as foot soldiers.

In the past, they had been a vital element in conquering major cities without destroying them completely. This slowly changed as Valyria grew in size and military power, and likewise as our understanding of magic developed. It simply wasn't worth risking the life of mages, if slave soldiers could do the job without trouble, because even an official novice mage was worth more than a thousand of the best trained slave soldiers.

Like my father, I was a fully trained battlemage, and I had been in battle before, but this was very different. Tywin had insisted that we charge into battle on horseback. This would be deal them a great mental blow, he said, but I had never ridden a horse before, so I had to hug the neck of the foul beast in order to not fall of.

Looking like a terrified child, I awkwardly tried to keep up with the mounted soldiers. The first thing I did when I reached the frontline, was jump of the horse, and I swore to myself I would never ride one of those dreadful things again, so long as I lived!

The fighting here was completely different from what I had experienced previously. Before, I had been fighting with elite slave soldiers, trained form birth fight with perfection, and to never show fear or pain.

This was nothing like that. It was chaotic and messy. People were moaning and screaming everywhere. They ran into each other, tussled on the ground, slashed and stabbed without any kind of order. Some of the soldiers charged in recklessly, whilst others could hardly move due to their terror and others even ran away.

The mess didn't cause me concern though. I was in full armor, which also included a helmet this time. It covered my entire head and face, and was equipped with a mask from mixture of spellforged steel and mage silver. The helmet itself was connected to my breast plate, so as to not leave my neck exposed.

I was actually quite exited. Since I was a child, I had trained with a sword for three hours, every other day. It didn't make me a master, but I must admit it had always been a juvenile wish of mine to actually fight with a sword and not just magic in a real battle. My mother had completely forbidden it. I was her only child, and she was not going to let me risk my life to fulfill some childish desire.

For the first time since leaving Valyria, I drew my sword from its scabbard. Its name was Aetherius, the fireweaver. It had the size of a typical long-sword, but certainly didn't look like one. The thin edges of the sword were made from spellforged steel, but the middle of the sword was different. It was made of some kind of white crystal or marble, and looked like it would shatter into pieces after a single swing. in the white crystal surface, there was carved two lines of black runes.

I gripped the hilt of the sword with both of my hands and raised it. Then something started happening. The previously black runes began changing colour. At first they turned orange, then they became white hot. The crystal in the middle started becoming more and more transparent, until it was impossible to see that it was even there.

Then from the hilt of the sword, a little blue flame came into existence. It almost looked like a small fish, slowly swimming up and down along the length of the blade, where the crystal could be seen before. It was mesmerizing to look at, since both the flames and the glowing white runes looked to be floating in midair between the thin edges of steel.

The soldiers around me stopped and starred at the glowing blade in my hand, but I didn't let them look for long, before I charged into the mess of men on the beach.

Unfortunately, before I made it to the enemy soldiers, they had already started gathering together in apprehension, all looking at the man with the strange sword. I was fast though, even in armor, and I caught up to a group of three that had been preoccupied and noticed me a little too late.

A man without a helmet, raised his sword and roared whilst he swung at me with all his might. I met his sword with mine, but to my surprise, I hardly felt a thing and almost lost my balance and toppled forward.

I had forgotten something. The men I was fighting didn't wield our famous spellforged steel, or Valyrian steel which it had come to be known as. Aetherius cut through his steel sword like a hot knife through soft butter. The man was left dumbfounded with half a sword in his hand, still glowing a bright red from where my sword had cut through his. Before he reacted, I swung again, and this time it was his torso that was cut in half.

The other storm landers around me looked at me like I was a monster, but to the defending soldiers, I was a knight in shining armor with a holy sword of light, that would lead them to victory and save the city. At least that was the plan.

Seeing that I had become the center of attention for the men around me, I held my sword in the air and roared a battle cry, before I charged at the two unfortunate storm landers there was still left alone.

The Lannister soldiers were shaken out of their stupor and roared with me, as they two charged into the fray.

Everywhere I went, the ground became littered with sizzling corpse, that had been cut clean through in various manners. The air was filling with a sickening scent of roasted meat, but I continued cutting into the bulk of their men, cleaving anything that tried to stop me.

My "fellow" soldiers were completely ecstatic and fought feverishly, even those from the city who had never see me before. It was like a god had descended from the heavens to strike down their enemies with them. Aetherius was a beacon in the night, and more and more soldiers began following me, as we drove the storm landers further back.

The downside to being the center of attention was, that I soon found myself getting pummeled by arrows. Stannis had taken large sections of the wall, and after a while of fighting, practically all the enemy archers up there, were aiming their arrows at me.

Arrowheads made from normal steel was no match against my armor of course, but an arrow still carried a certain force, and the constant clinking of metal hitting metal was deeply unsettling to listen to. I looked at the men on the wall with fury in my eyes. With a flick of my hand I could turn them to charred bones, but then I would lose the title of shining hero, and gain the one of an evil wizard in an instance.

It almost amazed me, how thin the line between hero and villain really was, to a people whose only source of information is rumor. I gave the archers one last deadly glance and ignored them. I then grit my teeth and grasped my sword tightly again, before I charged further into the fray.

* * *

It wasn't long before I stood in front of the tall doors that lead into the throne room. Tywin had joined up with me before we reached the red keep. He was the only one who dared stand close to me at all. Both the officers and soldiers had started keeping a certain distance from be, even after I sheathed Aetherius again. I couldn't tell if it was fear or reverence they held towards me. Probably both.

Tywin commanded them to push the doors open, and the huge hall revealed itself to me. It truly was very large, and beautifully constructed as well, when one considers this was all done by hand. By the end of the hall stood, what could only be, the famous iron throne. It was larger than I expected, but it was extremely ugly. Even so, I could see why this was such a symbol of power. To sit upon a throne of a thousand swords from defeated enemies was a gesture few didn't understand.

Upon the throne sat a woman with a child on her lap. The moment we entered, and the woman saw Tywin by my side, she cried with relief and hurried down the steps to greet him. She ran up to Tywin, but he completely ignored her. He and his men starred at me with intense anticipation. Calmly, I walked up the malformed steps of forged swords and sat down on the cold throne of iron.

More and more soldiers kept spilling into the hall, and before long it was almost full. The woman who had sat here before, went from being confused, to annoyed, to worried, as her father refused to tear his gaze from the stranger sitting on the throne.

I was still wearing my helmet when I came into the hall. I grasped it with both hands and slowly removed it, revealing my Valyrian features to the people in the hall. Tywin didn't waste any time. He walked up the concrete steps that led up to the throne itself and then kneeled for all to see.

He then spoke out loudly:

"I now proclaim Aerios of house Batorion, First of his name, King of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men, and protector of the Seven Kingdoms. Long may he reign!"

"LONG MAY HE REIGN!" Was loudly echoed by all the soldiers in the room and all the men in the room fell to their knees.

I smiled slightly to myself and leaned forward in the throne a tiny bit.

I then thought: "Alright. The first step is done."


	9. Chapter 9 - The Crown

**Hello everyone. I hope you enjoy the chapter, and please let me know what you think of it. I wish you all a great Christmas :-) **

Chapter 9 - The crown

"KILL HIM!" shouted the pubescent boy with a crown on his head, while he pointed at my figure sitting in his throne. I sat lazily leaning to one side whilst I studied the young boy down there. He was wearing what must be an expensive set of armor and a sword with a golden hilt, but it was obvious he had not seen any battle tonight.

He was quite pretty with his long and curly golden hair, but his face was distorted with an expression of rage and murder. It had barely been 20 minutes after the fighting was over, when he had barged into the crowded throne hall. He had come in, half running, with rage seething of him, whilst various advisers had been running after him, trying to stop him, or at least calm him down a bit. I suspect he had completely lost the ability to hear anything they said, after they informed him that I had claimed his place as king.

The room was deadly silent, with nobody daring to move. The soldiers and guards down there kept looking at each other, waiting for someone to be the first do to… something. An odd stalemate had presented itself. The soldiers who had fought with me on the beach acted as though I was a divine being, whilst the others who had filtered in from the various other fighting ground in the city thought of me as a stranger.

A commander who had been by my side from the beginning of the fight looked at me with a feverish gaze of worship, hardly containing himself whilst he was waiting for me to give the order to kill. To his and his men's disappointment, I didn't portray any emotion other than perhaps indifference.

Seeing as no one reacted to his order the boy king took a few additional angry steps forward and pointed at me feverishly. "I AM THE KING AND I COMMAND YOU TO SEIZE THIS TRAITOR AND KILL HIM!" He yelled with all his might, before gritting his teeth and returning the expression of pure hatred to his face.

Again, the men in the room were completely dumfounded and dared not move nor say anything. A few whimpers broke the silence coming from the woman who had sat on the throne previously. It seems she was very anxious to rush to the angry boy's aid, but one of the guards was gripping her arm very tightly, no doubt at the order of Tywin, standing next to her.

The moment stretched out for a long time, and seeing as no one was going to react, the boy king became more and more frustrated. For a moment, it almost looked like he wanted to stamp his foot at the ground, but instead let out a groin of frustration.

Breaking the stalemate, I stood up and slowly started walking down the throne. The clinking sound of my armor echoed in the silent hall every time I took another step down the massive mountain of iron. I had put my helmet back on before he had entered the throne hall, so I was looking at him from behind the mask.

The boy had his back turned to me as I began approaching him. Seeing I began walking down the steps, he had begun looking around at the guards and soldiers around him, to urge them to react to his commands. It was to no avail of course. Even the two odd looking golden armored men with white capes at his back had refused to budge when he ordered them to attack.

I stood right behind him before he finally turned around. I was quite a bit taller than him, so he was forced to look up to meet my gaze. His expression of pure hatred quickly turned to fear and panic the moment he truly looked into the beautiful, yet cold metallic features of my mask.

In a fluid motion, I slowly drew my sword form its scabbard with my right arm. It had long since cooled after the battle, and looked like its normal unimpressive self. The guards around me visibly stiffened, but everything that was happening was so surreal none of them knew what to do. Calmly I placed the blade of the sword on the shoulder of the now terrified little boy before me. I then spoke for the first time since he entered the room:

"If you live long enough, you will one day understand what it meant, that I could lay my naked sword on your shoulder here. But as for right now. Do you feel like a king?"

He shrunk back from me, and from his expression I would say he thought of me as a demon from hell. He turned to his mother for help, but she merely returned his look of pure desperation. Realizing there was no help to get, hesitated for a moment, but then looked back up at me, straightening himself and tilted his head upwards a bit. A gesture of habit to reassure himself in his right, I would guess.

In his most kingly voice he said "You have no claim to the throne! You have no right to be-"

"I hold the only right!" I interrupted him forcefully, no longer having any patience for his tantrum. He was right of course, I had no real claim of any kind to the seven kingdoms, but I was right as well.

"I have the only right that truly matters. The right of conquest. I should think that with how your father became king you would understand that better than anyone." I took another step forward, now truly towering over him and continued in the same forceful tone "Now, boy. Lay your crown at my feet, or I shall do it for you!"

He stepped back again, completely dumfounded at the development. Opening and closing his mouth, he tried to stammer forth a response, but Tywin saw it time to intervene.

He yelled "Guards! Remove his crown and then escort Joffrey to one of the guest rooms in the red keep. Make sure he stays there!"

This time the guards around him reacted instantly, and as if he had never been their king, they snatched the crown from his head and handed it to Tywin. They then took him by his arms and started dragging him out of the room, all the whilst he was screaming and cursing them.

Although I was already declared king by Tywin before, that had merely been in the presence of the random soldiers that was filling the throne room at the time.

Everyone of importance in the castle had long since joined the spectacle. This time, as Tywin kneeled before me and repeated the oath of fealty, there could be no doubt. He presented me with the crown of the seven kingdoms on his knees to the amazement of everyone there.

The room was frozen in awe, but after the first soldiers began kneeling, it started a chain reaction and soon every person in the hall were on the ground with their heads bowed.

Even the two golden guards had submitted to the new king after sensing the shift in mood.

I took the crown with my left hand and studied it a bit. It was a simple yet elegant design of stag antlers made from gold, but even if I had expected it, I was utterly disappointed with the crown of the seven kingdoms.

It was just a useless piece of metal. This represented the greatest power in the current era, and there was nothing special about it. That was certainly going to change.

The crowd slowly began looking up from their kneeling position, waiting for me to take off the helmet and place the crown on my head. But I didn't. I held it up with my hand and focused on it. Slowly it started turning red, then white, and then it started distorting in my hand.

A small stream of thick golden liquid ran through my fingers and splatted on the ground. It didn't hurt me at all of course. Any true born Valyrian would have an innate immunity to extreme heat.

I let my gaze flow over the now further shocked kneeling onlookers in the hall.

"Along with this crown, dies the old era of the seven kingdoms. I shall usher in a new one. It is time for this kingdom to take the next step on the path to greatness. We shall not only rival the empire of Valyria, but surpass it. I will show you riches beyond your imagination, I shall share with you the secrets and wonders of magic, and I shall make the skies once again, fill with dragons. I hereby make a vow to you, that from this moment, I will not rest until the seven kingdoms of Westeros become the greatest kingdom to have ever existed." I said loudly, my voice echoing in the hall.  
It was a speech that would have made me puke in the past, but now I thought I might as well try to reinforce my role as a golden savior as much as possible.

The utter silence in the hall was broken by Tywin, who stood up and shouted "Long live the king!", and the room came out of its trance, before everyone repeated the words, loudly!

The air around the new king seemed to almost shimmer and for a moment and half the people there could have sworn that the blue eyes in the cold metallic mask were glowing.

* * *

The king's quarters were still filled with the former king's stuff. Empty cages of various sizes were stacked in small piles along a wall in the room, leftovers from what I assumed was the former kings "hobby".

It was a nice room though. It was big and designed in a simplistic yet pleasing manner. It was nothing compared to the white marble rooms of home, but it had a certain comforting charm to it.

The balcony overlooking the city from the red keep was my favorite part though, and I especially relished the feeling of finally living higher in the air again. From my former quarters I was high above almost everything else. A Valyrian custom was that the higher you lived, the more status you commanded. In the clouds we were free from the filth and ugliness of the common world, and could look down it as if it all belonged to us. Because it did.

I could feel worry and annoyance radiating of Ragni since we yet again, were separated for the night. He had been trained since his hatching, to always stay near and watch over me, so the fact that he had to leave me alone in this smelling place full of weird, dirty people was starting to anger him.

In the army camp he could watch over me during the night at least, but here he would wreck the building if he landed. The city of King's Landing would have been ash before morning if I hadn't held him back. To him, none of this made any sense. These savage people below him were nothing more than bugs in his eyes and we had never cared for them in the past.

I spotted him easily in the starry night sky, circling above me as closely as possible without crashing into one of the towers.

"Relax brother, I will be fine. There should be a place for you to rest within the city. It is called the dragon pit and though it is a ruin, I think there should be plenty of space even for you." I sent him in a voice as disarming as possible.

**Irritated. Angry. **

"Yeah, I know. I'll find a solution quickly as possible, even if I have to build it myself." I sent back in an attempt to console him.

**Confusion. Here. Why. **

I sighed to myself before I responded: "This is all that is left. These people we once looked at with distain, is all that is left of civilization. Everything else has broken into pieces and descended into chaos after our home burned. If we want anything to be as it was before, we must build it ourselves, right here."

**Understand. Sad. **

"I am sad too. We have to look forward though. The two of us are the last hope for this world, or else we risk that both magic and your kind disappear forever." I sent back, though I could still feel the sting from the fresh wound I had received after finding out my family was dead.

Despite my reassurance, Ragni didn't leave the air above me for the entire night. Even after I placed a ward on the only entrance to the room, that would turn anyone who entered without permission into fine grey powder, he still wouldn't leave.

I woke up the next day to the sound of faint shouts from the city below me. Wearing nothing but a pair of silk pants I walked to the balcony and looked down at the source of the noise. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining and there were hardly any clouds. I could see hundreds of people scuffling about with their business.

Ribbons of cloth were raised up on wooden sticks along the streets. Crowns of flowers and other decorative ornaments were placed all over the city. In a larger city square with a direct path leading to the red keep (where Ned Stark was executed), a huge wooden platform was being hastily built.

I had put all of this in motion before I left the throne hall last night. It was for my formal coronation, even if it was my third.

Despite the enormous hassle and unnecessary hurry, I insisted it was done as quickly as possible, today.

By now, the Lannister soldiers would have already spread the rumors of my "heroic" deed last night, and not to mention my enormous dragon. The fact that I burned more than a thousand of their fellow soldiers would be completely forgotten in the drunken ecstasy of victory last night.

The painful memories would come back later though, which was also why the coronation was happening today. The main reason however, was because right at this moment, whilst the Lannister army was still camped outside the city, my grip on the throne was strongest.

Another thing was, that despite their unwillingness to help the former king last night, most of the nobles here still didn't recognize me as king. They hadn't experienced the soul crushing terror that was Ragnirion's wrath after all. Which is why I had to be formally crowned before they had time to plan anything.

* * *

The hour was still quite early in the morning, but I put on a simple set of everyday clothes, of a Valyrian noble standard of course, then I deactivated my ward and left the room.

I had no idea where I was going, but it wasn't long before I ran into two chatting maids that gasped loudly when they saw me. In a panicked and confused manner, they managed to explain where Lord Tywin Lannister was located, before they bowed their heads and apologized again and again for their rudeness.

In Valyria the maids were trained since their childhood and would never betray such emotions. I found I liked it though, and I laughed and smiled as I told them it was quite alright.

With their faces blushing furiously, they hurried onwards, but I laughed to myself again, because I could hear them burst into furious conversation, long before they came out of earshot.

Tywin's office was filled with people when I got to it, standing around in small circles, loudly arguing with one another. The man himself was buried in a pile of letters, writing as fast as was humanly possible with a quill. I could imagine the administrative nightmare a new king appearing from one day to the next might be.

My presence wasn't noticed immediately, but one of the men in conversation looked up from the paper he held in his hand and went silent. Soon all the others followed, as they saw the odd figure standing amongst them.

The silence was broken by Tywin who simply said. "Get out. All of you." And before, we were the only two remaining.

He gave a courteous bow, and I studied him for a bit. He had changed clothes since I saw him last night, but it was obvious he hadn't slept.

I gestured for him to sit down, but I remained on my feet. He then asked me: "Might I ask what causes you to bless me with your presence, your grace."

"I trust everything is going to plan, and that I shall be officially crowned today." I said whilst studying some of the objects that was displayed on his desk.

Tywin answered simply "Of course, your grace." Obviously waiting to hear the real reason I came here.

"Good. I understand it is the tradition for the rule of the seven kingdoms to have someone serve as their hand. I believe, that judging from what I have heard and seen with my own eyes, you suit this position better than anyone." I said as I studied his expression.

Hearing this, even Tywin couldn't completely hide the relief that washed over him. He quickly composed himself and answered: "You honor me beyond words, your grace. I shall do anything you wish of me to serve you."

"Good." I answered simply, as a smile found its way to my face. I continued:

"There is however, something you have to do before we can move forward from here."

I brushed the letters on the desk aside to make room. I then lightly tapped the bag at my side, before two papers appeared on the table before Tywin. One looked just like the one Robb Stark had signed not many days ago, but the other one was different. It was far more detailed and complicated. The text was much smaller and there was more of it. Likewise, the lightly glowing red runes on the paper was far more intricate and detailed.

Tywin was far more apprehensive than the young warden of the north had been, and as he studied the papers before him, his faced turned more and more pale. He kept a dignified appearance as he studied the contracts before him, but I could see his thoughts racing in his head.

He opened his mouth to speak but I spoke first: "These were part of the foundation of the Valyrian empire. I promise you they have been used for thousands of years and are perfectly safe."

Tywin didn't betray a touch of emotion before he looked up and asked. "Might I ask what they are, your grace?"

I nodded to him and spoke again: "They are different contracts of servitude. The simpler looking one, is a standard contract of vassalage. If you sign it, it will not affect you in any way, other than make sure you cannot disobey a direct order and take any treasonous actions. It will extend to only you, but it will last your entire lifetime."

The misery Tywin was feeling was becoming more and more evident. I had no illusions about the man though. Even if he had acted as a perfect servant until now, I knew that was simply because of the immediate threat of death. If he got the chance, he would betray me in a heartbeat.

Tywin was a master of scheming and political maneuvering. I would be surprised if he didn't already have several plans in place to secretly undermine me, and increase his own influence. Even if he couldn't beat me in a straight battle, with his grip on the kingdom he could make me dependent on him for various other things, such as gold, food or simply influence over the people.

These magical documents were something entirely foreign. He had no idea what would actually happen if he surrendered himself to the mercy of this foreign sorcerer who had appeared out of nowhere. No planning, wealth or influence could possibly help him now, and he knew it.

"And the second one?" He asked, forgetting his manners. Completely consumed by his own thoughts.

"The second one is a bit more complex. It doesn't just prevent betrayal, it compels you to, partially serve my what you perceive to be my interests. It doesn't mean you cannot further your own house, but only if it is with the intention of increasing your power to serve me. This is the traditional contract that the head of lesser noble houses of Valyria would sign once they swore servitude to a great family."

Tywin stared at the paper as if he could decipher its contents with simply will alone.

"Finally, it doesn't just extend to your life. To become head of the Lannister house in the future, the successor must inherit the contract to be officially recognized. To major Valyrian houses, the title of successor has a more profound meaning than here, but I will explain that in a minute." I explained to the stunned man before me.

He tore his gaze away from me and looked at the documents on the table again. I continued:

"If you sign the first one, you will retain you title as warden of the west and head of the Lannister family, but you must leave the capital and return to Casterly rock. Should you choose the second one, I shall name you hand of the king. I only posses one of these, and I cannot create another myself. The Lannister family would forever be known as the king's right hand, and you would be responsible for managing the kingdom on a daily basis, as you have done in the past. You are free to pick yourself, but I am afraid you have to pick one."

Tywin simply sat in his chair, looking at the two papers in front of him. He couldn't understand a word of what was written, and much less make any sense of the strange magic runes that was written on the papers. A significant amount of time passed in silence, before Tywin spoke again:

"Your grace. What did you mean when you said the title of successor has a more profound meaning in Valyria?" His eyes never leaving the contracts.

"That is because the control is handed over to the head of the house." I answered in a light tone.

Tywin followed up. "Control of what?"

A heavy thump sounded on the table and Tywin finally lifted his gaze, to look up at what made the noise. The sight of a mesmerizing golden egg greeted him.


	10. Chapter 10 - A long way

**Hello everyone. I bet you thought the story was dead. Sorry for the monumental delay :-) The education I am taking has a notorious semester, where literally more than half drop out. Luckily I finished it so I plan on starting to write again. I made an overall plan of how I think I want the story to go, but please feel free to make suggestions. **

**Anyway, If some of you are still left, I hope you enjoy :-) **

Chapter 10 - A long way

Ever since Aegon Targaryen first displayed the overwhelming military might of a dragon, it had ignited a burning desire in the greater houses of Westeros. The raw strength control of a dragon brings was something that they could only dream of achieving. Every day, they would desperately struggle among themselves in their political games to fight over ounces of power at a time. There were so many games occurring simultaneously, it was impossible to keep track of them all. Each of the nobles, trying to achieve some sort of personal gain in their "service" to the kingdom.

But to possess a dragon would change the rules of the games entirely. Not only did dragons represent a direct path to the throne, to be considered a dragon lord would be as if they were given a new title surpassing regular nobility. Both their military and political power would increase several fold with such an advantage.

Tywin starred at the strange oval shaped thing before him in awe. It was without a doubt the most beautiful object he had ever laid eyes upon. Beautiful swirls of orange and a glowing golden color blended together in a mesmerizing mirage, that could stir the deepest desires of anyone who lay their gaze upon it. It pulsated with an aura of life and power that consumed him and touched him at a primal level.

During his whole life, Tywin had been a fierce skeptic of the fantastical. Stories of giants and ice spiders was nothing more than that. Stories. Even so, he didn't doubt for a second that the object in front of him was magical. He simply could not take his eyes of it.

An instinctive desire to ignore everything around him and simply grab the object nearly overcame him, but a chill suddenly shook him awake as he remembered the man in front of him.

He finally forced himself to tear his gaze from the egg and asked in astonished voice: "Is that.."

"A dragon egg, yes. It can be yours, if you sign the second contract." I interrupted, wanting to move things along.

Examining the egg briefly again, he shook his head slightly as if to shake of his stupor. He steeled his resolve and returned to his direct and authoritative manner of speaking: "I am afraid I must decline your offer, your grace. But I shall sign the first contract" He answered determined, yet with clear bitterness staining every word.

I was taken aback. To the mundane person, one magical contract didn't seem much different from another, and both of them assured that his family could never hope for anything more than to be the second greatest power in Westeros. The second contract practically guaranteed their position for years to come.

I didn't try to hide my astonishment when I asked him: "Might I ask why you would give up such an opportunity? You must know, that I shall simply offer it to another."

"This year I turn 67 years old. My whole life I devoted to secure my legacy, and I was certain that these coming months would be my chance to consolidate the Lannister family as one of the greatest dynasties in the world. This has become an impossibility with the arrival of you." He spoke whilst not tearing his gaze from me. It was in his usual firm and monotone manner, but I felt as though this was the first time since meeting him, that he had been completely honest with me.

Tywin rose from his chair and turned to the window, with his hands behind his back, reminiscing about what could have been.

"I realize now, how meaningless everything I have achieved is, in the face of a figure like you. If I was younger, perhaps I would have taken the opportunity, but I have not the time left to raise a dragon nor help bring about the new era you promise." He continued, his frustration becoming more evident as he spoke.

A slight smile appeared on my face while he spoke. The old lion refuses for his last battle to be a total defeat. He would rather resign from the game entirely. But that wasn't the reason I was smiling.

Despite his power and reputation, this great man who had a continent at his feet, was just a mere mortal. He knows that his death is just around the corner, and therefore he devotes every second of his remaining time in this world, to that which he would leave behind. His legacy. So that he may live on, through his name.

This may sound like a noble pursuit, but I knew what it was rooted in. This man despised the fact, that he was dying.

It was for this reason, I knew I had him.

Tywin raised an eyebrow in annoyance at my seemingly mocking smile, as if he briefly forgot his recent change in status.

"I think you should wait for me to explain the full benefits of a dragon bound specifically to you, before you make your decision." I said, amused at the older man's now puzzled look.

* * *

A royal coronation was a lengthy affair. It usually lasted several days, where people from all over the kingdom would travel for many miles to partake in the festivities. Troupes of singers, dancers and various other entertainers would come from all around the world either by invitation or simply on their own.

Unfortunately, due to the urgent nature of the coronation, the people hadn't been given the same time to prepare, so many of the usual exotic parts of the festivities weren't present. Even so, the streets were brimming with life, music and laughter filling the air, even in the poorer sections of the city.

Many were still drunk on the events of the night before, so a royal coronation almost seemed like an excuse to celebrate their high spirits.

Summer had long since passed but the sun at noon still felt scorching for the great mass of people, that was pressed together in the square in front of the great sept. Still more were pressing into the square from the side streets, even though the square had long since been overfilled.

Some found ways to sit on the roofs of the surrounding buildings, while a few had even climbed onto the statue of Baelor, the punishment of a crippling beating seemingly ignored.

The new king was almost like a legend stepping out of a story. The city was overflowing with conflicting rumors of strange man who had come to their rescue last night. Tales of the flaming sword and the massive dragon were spreading everywhere. And every time the tale was told, the sword grew a little brighter and the dragon a little bigger.

In front of the steps to the sept, was a somewhat hastily assembled wooden platform. Around the platform in a half circle stood a three deep line of grim looking Lannister soldiers. They had been given the task to hold back the swelling mass of people and so far the job had not been easy.

The sea of people was pushing and shoving to get a better view. The soldiers shouted and cursed, but they were drowned out by the yells from the roiling mass of people.

Atop the platform stood a group of sweating individuals. Despite the heat, they were all wearing fancy and ornamental clothes, which seemed like torture in the heat. The figures just stood there, as if waiting for something to happen.

Tywin stood at the front of the group, by the foot of a smaller platform, on top of the one they were already standing on. He hated occasions such as these because of the waiting. His time was limited and more precious than gold, even if he suddenly had more of it.

Normally, he would have cursed the sun bearing down on him, but today he didn't feel the heat at all.

The others around him wasn't so lucky though. Sweat could be seen to pour down their necks and faces. Mercifully, a shadow came out of nowhere and shielded them from the sun, but it disappeared as quickly as it had come.

Tywin didn't even manage too look up, before he noticed the overwhelming noise of the mass, suddenly died down to nothing.

The sound of massive wings flapping was the only sound that remained, as he finally saw the gigantic creature he knew was Ragnirion, hovering far above the platform.

A figure could be seen on the back of the black dragon. The man stood up from its saddle, and jumped towards the platform. A fall from such a height would injure any normal man, but the figure gently levitated down, and landed on the platform before him.

The dragon landed on the steps leading up to the sect, shattering the stone tiles where his massive legs and wings hit.

People had no doubt expected it would come. Still they gasped and took several steps back from the giant creature, but seeing that it remained calm, the fear quelled a bit.

The man looked almost like a celestial being. His armor covered every inch of his body in a spotless silver like metal. His chest was decorated with a beautiful design of a dragon decorated with both jewels and strange runes. The dragon was coiled around a huge green jewel, which caught and reflected the suns light.

From his shoulders hang a beautiful green cape, which again had the image of a coiling dragon around a stone embroidered in it.

It had been a gamble to arrive at the ceremony on Ragnirion. The sight of such a massive dragon might have caused a panic in the crowd, but Tywin had insisted it would serve to support my powerbase.

I removed my helmet and waved at the crowd, which broke their shock and caused an eruption of cheers. Like a dam finally being broke, the crowd let their excitement out, as the man who was on everyone's lips, finally showed himself. The cheers spread like a wave through the city, even though most couldn't even see me, they got caught up in the excitement.

Forcefully stopping myself from retrieving my vectium out of instinct, I raised my hands for silence. Every step of the process had been planned, but much depended on their reaction to what I was about to say.

"Not long ago, I thought the world of humanity had lost its chance at greatness. But you have proven me wrong. Together, we shall raise ourselves to height few could have ever imagined. First I shall end these useless rebellions and once again unite the seven kingdoms under one throne. The one in this great city!"

I yelled, using magic that strengthened the sound and made it travel much further.

The people roared again and I waited a while before once again, signaling for silence.

"I will show you the glories of the Valyria of my youth. We shall build wonders that can reach the sky, we shall transform kings landing into the greatest city in existence. The world shall look upon us with awe and envy, and fear!"

The mass of people went wild once more. Despite the excitement, I felt a sense of relief wash over me. I couldn't have been entirely sure they would react this way, but this is exactly what I hoped for. Once they finally calmed down once more, I spoke again.

"My name is Aerios Batorion and from this day, I declare myself ruler of the seven kingdoms and a new era for this kingdom to begin!"

As I said this, Ragni raised himself up to stand on his hind legs behind me. He unfolded his wings to their fullest, to display his greatness and roared in the least threatening manner he could.

Luckily, the people were so caught up in their frenzy, that his roar only seemed to amplify their excitement. On the stage, Tywin gave a slight nod of his head to a team of men in the distance, and hundreds of white birds were suddenly released nearby.

Having finished, what I came to do, I climbed on the back of Ragni and set of. We made sure to circle the city, flying low to that the people could be once again reminded of the splendor of a great dragon. And the power it represented.

In Valyria, dragons represented power and wealth, but in Westeros it represented royalty. With this little display, my position in the eyes of the people were confirmed and so my position solidified.

Even from dragon back I could smell the stink of the city below me. I sighed and spoke to myself more than Ragni.

"Despite my grand speech just now, this place has a very, very long way to go. I dare not think of how long it will take before it even begins to resemble Valyria."

**Comfort. Me. With. You.**

"You are right brother. It could have been much worse. Without you, I would have been truly lost." I said and steered him towards the ocean. I wanted to enjoy the rest of the day in peace, for I knew it would be ages before I would have any time to myself again.

* * *

The celebrations lasted for days, where before the city who had been depressed under the shadow of war, it now looked like a gleaming jewel at night from above.

I was in no mood to appreciate the shift atmosphere though. Looking over the accounts for the past years, I realized just how deep into the pit the kingdom truly was. We owed tens of millions of golden dragons to the iron bank of Braavos.

The bank was far older than the doom, so I had heard of it before, but back then, it was a fraction of the size of today. They seem to have thrived on the chaos that ensued after the doom.

Tywin was by my side, answering my barrage of questions the best he could. It irritated me endlessly, that such irresponsible spending had been allowed, just because the drunken fool of a king had been miserable and bored.

Furthermore, the war hadn't done the budget any favors either, and now that summer was ending, the future looked rather dark. Not only would I have to repay the debt, without more food or money, the country would suffer from massive starvation during winter. It would seem, I had no choice but to pause my expansion plans for the kingdom, until this problem was solved.

"With summer ending, it is impossible for us to make up for such a staggering amount through normal taxation. We will have to look for other means." I said, as I raised my head from the huge book.  
We were sitting in what was known as the tower of the hand. For some reason, no one had deemed it necessary that the king had an office to work from, though given the past two kings, maybe it wasn't so strange.

Tywin cleared his throat. He had revealed that his own goldmines had dried up long ago, so he could not do much, given the millions he had already loaned the crown.

"As things stand now, I can only see two possible ways of immediately ridding ourselves from this debt. Only the Tyrells currently possess the amount of gold necessary to pay of such an enormous amount." He said, remaining apprehensive as he noticed my black mood.

I looked at him with a blank expression, clearly signaling him to get on with it.

"They currently find themselves outside the royal fold, given they rebelled to support Renly Baratheon. I imagine that they would be more than willing to swear their loyalty, and even pay a great price to be spared punishment for their previous betrayal."

This lightened my mood slightly.

"Would it be enough for the people to survive the coming winter?" I asked, knowing they couldn't possible have enough to satisfy the entire debt.

"I would say so. They control the most fertile land in the seven kingdoms, and we have just had the longest summer in living memory. I expect they have enough food to get us through winter, twice over."

It had only been a few days since I claimed the throne, so it was only natural that very few knew of the colossal shift in power in the capital. On the day of my coronation, a letter had been sent to the wardens of the five other kingdoms in Westeros summoning them to kings landing. Outside of the north and the west, the others allegiances were still in unknown.

"What of the kingdom of Dorne? You said it is unlikely they will simply surrender, since the previous dragon lords never conquered them. If we were to take their wealth, would it be enough?" I asked in an almost hopeful tone.

It was widely known that Aegon failed to conquer Dorne and that his sister Rhaenys and her dragon had died there.

Even though I knew it was completely illogical, it felt as an insult to my pride as a Valyrian. I was eager to prove to the other kingdoms, that they certainly could not resist my wrath.

Tywin was quick to answer, detecting the eagerness in my tone. "Unfortunately no. Other than wine, the Dornishmen have little but sand. They certainly do not possess great wealth. Besides, it might be a long and costly affair to conquer them as much of the kingdom is desert."

"Yes, it might be unwise for now. But if they don't answer my summoning and swear fealty, then I shall destroy them." I said in the cold and steely tone that my uncle had used. I returned my gaze to the book on the table and sighed.

There was simply so much to do. I wanted to meet the Targaryen girl, I had to return to Valyria to retrieve my property as I would surely need it and I had to start several massive construction project in Westeros. First though, I had to bring the kingdoms under control and solve the damn crisis of debt.

"What was the other method?" I asked, recalling his previous words.

"Yes. The debt itself is owed to the iron bank. If I may suggest it, your grace, you could simply fly there and pay them a visit." He said, looking at me almost expectantly.

Easily understanding what he meant, I gave a light chuckle.

"You put so much faith in the fear a dragon brings. I imagine if I threaten them now, it might prove unfortunate for our people in the future. Even if I were to turn the bank to ruins, surely it would survive and cause trouble in the future."

"Usually I would tend to agree, but forgive me your grace, I think you may underestimate the power a dragon represents. Particularly one of Ragnirions size." Tywin answered, with a hint of steel in his voice. It would seem he didn't find this humorous at all.

"We shall leave this as a last resort. Destroying them might cause unforeseen consequences and I don't want to be known as a bandit king." I said, standing from the desk.

I continued as I walked to the door "Now. I think I know enough about my kingdom now. It is time I meet the famous small council. Let them convene this afternoon."

These last few days Tywin had spent teaching me everything he could about the current situation of Westeros. Who the important nobles were and who actually held power. Which were likely to support me and which would need "convincing".

Tywin merely bowed and said "Your grace" before taking my seat. He closed the heavy book of accounts and put it aside on the desk, careful not to disturb the tiny, sleeping golden lizard, coiled around itself laying there.


End file.
